Just when you thought it was safe to walk the streets after dark along comes another reason to stay inside and avoid the vampires that are hiding in every shadow. Now, I’ve no idea if vampires actually had anything to do with Blood Child’s EP “Shower Me” yet, just two songs in, their hybrid of grunge mentality and European art rock sensibilities makes the band’s dystopian, if rather poetic, viewpoint start to draw a line in blood.
Maybe it is a Nordic thing – Blood Child are from Denmark – but it is hard to avoid drawing the conclusion that this isn’t a collection of songs that many will find spiritually uplifting. The shining light of hope falls not upon this band yet this cannot be seen, in musical terms, as a fault for Blood Child prove themselves more than capable of generating an atmosphere that could sustain hope if that were their choice and, despite the general bleakness that pervades all that they do, there is no loss of the essential humanity that keeps us one step ahead of both the undead and our logic obsessed and computerised overseers.
So, “Shower Me” is unlikely to make you want to dance into the dawn but, as Blood Child gyrate in their near psychedelic dreamtime, there is something twisted and curiously compelling about their sound that keeps your ears interested. You can’t really complain about a band that can pull that off.
Best song? The click tracked melancholy that is “Strange Life”.
The verdict? Intense.
Available from Bandcamp.