Taking you on a journey from catchy pop-rock to jazzy funk inspired numbers to more dreamy ethereal tracks, Bleak Squad’s Strange Love is an album driven by rhythm and a clear passion for music.
Bleak Squad emerged from a desire to create more music, and you can feel the enjoyment resounding through the songs. The album opens with catchy single Lost my Head, before segueing straight into World Go To Hell which makes its mark in a different way, building from a soft ballad into a heavier anthemic track as the song progresses.
This transient feeling permeates much of the album and you quickly get swept away by each track while developing an appreciation of their layered, structured and varied sounds. I really enjoyed the 80s Depeche Mode vibe (with just a touch of darkness) from Let Go Of Love, while title track Strange Love also deserves a mention with its jazzy, bossa nova style.
One of my issues with supergroups generally is that you can often hear the power struggle in their music, but there’s none of that here. You can absolutely hear the influence of the band members other projects but it blends beautifully into the overarching feel of the album. It’s one of those albums you wish you could have been in the room watching it get made to see all of that creativity at work.
Overall, Strange Love is an incredibly enjoyable, musically interesting album to listen to. It’s one of those albums where you hear something new with every listen and perfect for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.
We’ve added Lost My Head to our Songs to Brush Your Teeth To Playlist (a fun way to hear some new music).
You can listen to the whole album here.
About Bleak Squad
Bleak Squad is the most well-known Melbourne band no one’s heard of.
They are a new Melbourne four-piece comprised of Australian art-rock royalty – co-authors of some of the most critically-acclaimed music of the last 40 years. Featuring Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party), Adalita (Magic Dirt) and Marty Brown (Art of Fighting), the unlikely quartet unite for the first time on Bleak Squad’s brooding, noir-rock debut LP, Strange Love.
Order the LP here or here (if you’re in the UK/EU).
Find out more about Bleak Squad here.