Album Review

Black Box Revelation – Live At The AB

• 26th Sep 2008

I say Brussels, you say sprouts? It is a sorry state of affairs indeed. Perhaps we have been so busy spitting out the sprouts that we have failed to notice that Brussels has been spitting out a new form of dirty rock ‘n’ roll? My friends, behold; the resolution, the revolution; The Black Box Revelation.

The duo’s most recent release, quite simply entitled ‘Live at the AB’ has set a standard for all blues hybrid’s to follow, and as their last track, ‘I think I like you’ storms to its sleazy conclusion, I have to say, I think I like them too.

Throughout the record, there are several sentimental nods to the rawest form of garage rock. ‘Set your head on fire’ in particular injects the squalid influence of ‘Black Rebel’ and ‘Iggy Pop’ into a potentially clean cut blues lick, giving the track the edge that’s been missing from the genre.

Building on a simple refrain, the dirty magic of the guitar and the evident force of their performance left me but a whisker away from grabbing a lighter and setting my head on fire right with them. Well, almost.

It has to be said, on first listen, the unrefined style of BBR, other wise known as Jan Paternoster and Dries Van Dijck, left me slightly confused; is it indie, is it blues, is it classic? It is only when you stop searching that you find the answer; it’s different, and it’s wonderful. Certainly, there are moments during ‘Gravity Blues’ when you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled across Jet, but let’s just hope that Gravity keeps the duo’s feet on the ground, I’ve got a feeling they’re going to be big.