Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

ELOUR Blood Running Review by Gary Hill This is a great album. It really pushes a lot of the right buttons for me. It seems to be a rather punky set that builds on and pays tribute to a number of other female fronted rock bands including No Doubt, Toyah, Missing Persons and Garbage. It's more or less vocalist and song-writer Elizabeth Ghandour's band, and she and the rest of the musicians have created something that deserves to become a new classic release. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

Reputation There is a bluesy hard rocking sound as this gets underway. It turns a little toward a punky sound as it develops and the vocals enter. I'm reminded a little of Toyah.

Waste Of My Time Funky, new wave angled and so cool, this is another classy rocker. It's energized and unusual. It's also catchy. I can still make out some of that Toyah thing, but also some Missing Persons.

Fade I love the energized and rocking groove of this cut. While this has a lot of the same reference points we heard on the previous songs, for some reason I'm getting a little bit of B-52s angle to parts of this. It is definitely harder edged and more direct than that implies, though. There are some particularly cool guitar fills on the track.

Ha This isn't a big change. It does have more of that Toyah kind of thing at play for sure. It has a good contrast between mellower and more rocking zones.

Beautiful Girl I think this might be my favorite tune here. It has some killer hooks, a lot of energy and a short horn solo. For some reason I'm getting a little bit of a No Doubt meets Garbage vibe.

Is It True That Garbage meets No Doubt thing is even more apparent here. This tune has great contrast between mellower and more rocking zones. It's packed full of style and charm. The vocals literally scream at times. It's also just so strong. It's another standout, and competition with its immediate predecessor for the best song here.

Break Me I swear that I can almost hear hints of The Monkees on this song. There are also some punky edges. It earns a very small parental advisory on the lyrics. This is another energized rocking groove packed full of cool. There is a lot of retro texture on this one, but it's still fresh and modern.

The Look In Your Eyes More of a mainstream tune, this works well, but isn't at the same level as some of the rest. That said, there are some intriguing keyboards and some guitar parts that seem to bring a little Americana to the proceedings.

Good Girl Another that makes me think of Garbage to some degree, this rocker works well, but isn't really a standout.

Up All Night Artsy, punky and over-the-top crazy, I can make out some Nina Hagen on this along with plenty of Toyah. It's packed full of energy and insanity. It's also got some of the most dramatic stuff here and even leans toward space rock at times.

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