Bleech - Nude
- Written by Alex Ward
It’s not very often that you fall in love with a band by listening to a debut album. After listening to Nude over and over it’s quite clear that Bleech, the trio from London, are breaking the doors down. Jennifer O’Neill alongside sister Katherine O’Neill and Matt Bick have even been reviewed as ‘a match made in nineties heaven’.
Their opening track 'Weirdo' is an energetic song which sounds like what would happen if Courtney Love became lead singer of Feeder. It has great dynamic and is a good song to jump around to shouting the chorus “Being loved by you is such a waste of time”. Even track two 'Break My Nose', with its strong opening riff, is supported by a great chorus, which would make even Dave Grohl proud.
One of the singles from the album 'Mondays' has a pounding drum introduction, which leads on to typically strong chorus. This in my opinion is one of my favourite songs of the album. One thing you can guarantee with Bleech is they must be highly influenced by the great grunge and rock out there. Track four 'The Worthing Song' has a hard-hitting introduction similar to Pearl Jam in their Alive period.
Bleech also have a poetic side, with slower song 'Flower Hands'. The classic acoustic-style plucking and emotionally driven singing makes me only think of walking through rose gardens with someone you love. Another of their singles 'Adrenalin Junkie' is a song, which has a great mix of pop-punk strumming with strong vocals, which I can imagine would go down massively at the Reading and Leeds festival. Saying that, for me it’s not one of the strongest tracks from the album.
A song with great poetic imagery, 'Holiday' has a great picking style similar to the intro to Foo Fighters 'Let It Die'. Fast hitting punk 'I Wanna Be Me' is a great song with great dynamic and really brings out the singer's individuality with Jennifer almost screaming the lyrics out. But the style throughout Nude is so similar to that of Dave Grohl and Feeder - this can become a tiny bit repetitive, such as on 'Dancing Without You', with its little glimpses of Arctic Monkeys riffs.
The album closer, 'When I Get Old', is another example of how brilliantly poetic this band is. In my opinion it is one of the most complicated songs style wise - alongside strong lyrics it makes you foam at the mouth for more. As a debut album Nude is a great start. However, Bleech should really find their own individual style instead of being too Grohl-esque. What works is their mixture of poetic lyrics and great rock which no doubt will see them go far.