Blackchords - Blackchords

Few bands have ever managed to capture a feeling, or a mood in their work that truly represents the listeners mentality and emotions. And rarely has this quality been present in a debut album. Usually, such a special grasp on song writing takes a band years to build and craft, but for one fresh Australian band, it appears effortless.
Blackchords released their self titled debut in October of last year, and have already gained wide critical acclaim, and a string of tour dates across Australia and Europe. People are quickly learning that this is a band to sit up and listen to.
From the opening guitar chords of the albums intro track, 'At World's End', the listener is in for an intense ride of introspection. The track itself providing a strong exclamation point over the entire selection through its subtle mood changes, epic chorus and paranoid and isolated lyrics. This theme continues throughout the work, giving the album the feel of being alone and lost in a vast empty room, where the only salvation comes in glimmers of optimism scattered all around. This is largely down to both the delicate vocals from band front man, Nick Milwright and the intimate, yet haunting musicality of the entire band. This can be seen best on tracks such as '22', 'Disappear' and honest ballad 'Broken Bones'.
Said glimmers of optimism arrive at staggered points on the album to suggest that the room does have a door. These lights in the dark include 'Pretty Little Thing', 'Switch' and 'Diploma'; all of which offering a more fast paced and energetic attitude to the theme.
The albums key moment of beauty, and equally significant darkness, is nestled in track three, 'These Lights'. With its achingly delicate piano melody, and broken rhythm, this track contains more atmosphere in its four and a half minutes than the rest of the songs put together, but sums up the overall tone perfectly. The piece's potent chorus line delivering the bittersweet, "All this love, I can't do anything tonight", acts like a grey umbrella over the band's debut.
Usually, such ideas and emotions in music are best emulated by electronica groups or acoustic musicians, but Blackchords' raw indie rock proves that the increasingly bland genre still has its hidden gems. In fact, elements of such gems, the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay and Blackchords' antipodean contemporaries, Howling Bells, definitely seem to have been an influence on Nick Milwright and company. This is in no way a burden, being as Blackchords have successfully taken inspiration and moulded their own confident sound within the genre.
After a couple of listens to this prominent debut album, one will recognise Blackchords as having huge potential and scope towards music, and will will also find refuge in the empty room, knowing that you are in fact, not alone.