Album Review: The Bateleurs - The Sun In The Tenth House

As I have talked about before, there's a question whether the classic rock of the 70s is timeless because of something innate to itself, or because it is an evolutionary starting point fixed in both time and our consciousness. It was a more organic time for music, even if it was still a business, perhaps because it was a business that was working for the artists. Whatever the case, the 70s continues to be the blueprint by which much of what the layperson calls rock and roll live by. All you need is a guitar, perhaps an organ, and a singer who can fill the space with their power.

That is the formula for The Bateleurs, who imbue the spirit of the 70s into their sound. You can hear the grain of overdrive on their guitars as they run through the well-worn blues scales, and the vocals steamroll over everything with immense power. There is more than a pinch of Led Zeppelin to what they are doing, but the advances of technology mean no Zeppelin record ever sounded this fierce and immense. The hints of distortion that creep in around the edges are remnants of a band giving it their all, not one trying to fake passion by turning up the dials.

I love "All We Are" for its bluesy sing-along chorus, and how the song throws in a swampy choir as the break, fully recognizing what the original church of the blues would sound like. The music keeps a dirty edge to it, not sounding so clean it loses its fire, but also not gritty in a way that is brittle. It's a fine line to balance, and they master the high-wire act.

The same thing was true of Blues Pills' first album, which is where my thoughts tend to go listening to The Bateleurs. Both groups were taking the bluesy side of classic rock, using it as a canvas for howling vocals that go far and above what almost any of the men in the genre are capable of. The difference is that Blues Pills was taking more from the slower and more mystical bits, while The Bateleurs are a full-on power blues band. This album hits hard, and doesn't let up. The sound is loud, the songs are pounding, and this is the kind of blues that is more righteous than sad.

How can you listen to "I'll Go All The Way" and not get caught up in the communal power the sound would have had back in the day? Zeppelin may have been more artsy, but they would have a hard time matching the power that comes from some of the rousing choruses The Bateleurs trade in. That's the reason I have never counted myself as a Zeppelin fan, and The Bateleurs are justifying my contrarianism. Hearing a similar sound done this way, with what I would consider stronger and more focused songwriting, tells me I shouldn't settle with regard to my taste. The Bateleurs have all the power of the past, but they do it with a care for song-craft I don't hear very often from the originators of the style.

The way the balladic swing of "City Of Lights" builds into that epic descending melody is darn near perfect. The band uses the extreme dynamics to build a song that not only crests like the tide, but is perfectly placed to break up the album from becoming overwhelming. It's just beautiful exploitation of everything the blues can be, and while it might not take the same winding path "Stairway To Heaven" does, it sounds just as gargantuan, just in a different way.

By the time the record plays out, I am quite impressed with The Bateleurs. They have power, they have passion, and they have nuance to their songwriting. They take the conventions of blues-rock, and they elevate them to something we seldom get to hear. At the beginning, I wondered why classic rock is timeless. When I'm listening to an album like this, and a band like this, it's not hard to understand. There really is nothing dated about talented musicians plugging in and rocking out. As long as you have the songs to back it up, it's a formula that is always going to work.

On "The Sun In The Tenth House", it is shining brightly on The Bateleurs. They are making a hugely promising statement.