Manny Blu isn’t your normal country star in waiting.
He’s Canadian for one thing. Then there’s the fact “New Ink” is named in homage to Motley Crue’s “New Tattoo” record, oh and he’s an MMA Fighter.
Now, I am sure he’s hard and everything, but I’ll bet he never had a detention for wearing a denim jacket with a Motley Crue, “Dr Feelgood” patch on the back at school. I did. So come on then Manny, what you got…..?!
Actually, what he’s got is talent. Lots of it. And a five track EP that builds on his “Leave It Like It Is” album and marks him as a real one to watch – all of which is more impressive, in hindsight than my attempt at rebellion in 1991.
If he hasn’t exactly got the most conventional route to get to this point, Blu has got the modern country sound down as well as anyone has. But what he’s also got is the “Canada” thing. That is to say, it seems to me, that music made by Canadians always gets to the point. Whether its Stephen Fearing, Rush, Bryan Adams, Nickelback (my adoration for them is genuine) they don’t do anything that isn’t straight down the line. No messing. This has got it in bucket loads.
“Burnt Out Town” has a kind of open road feel. “A tank of freedom” he sings here, and this is about escape, freedom, wanting something different, better.
What it also is, as well as all those things, is catchy. So are all the others. There’s a crunch, a funk about “Sink” (he’s sinking down a bottle of Jack in the best traditions of Southern Rock) and although he’s from the North, there’s a southern vibe. Think Cadillac Three here (not their most recent record, obviously), and you can tell that in Aaron Eshuis he shares a producer with A Thousand Horses, that’s for sure.
“Born To Ride” has a hit single all over it, it knows it too. Pick a country star from Brantley Gilbert to Eric Church, to Chase Rice and they are all killing for this, but Blu does it differently. “Ain’t Got You” turns up the blues, but good grief, whoever wrote these knows how to do a chorus.
These are three minute pop rock songs with a country twist, essentially. Each one about that length, and the uplifting “Old Money” celebrates with a superb screeching solo and some soaring harmonies – there are five potential hits here and this is why.
A fighter delivering a knockout EP? Too much of a cliché? How about “New Ink” gets under the skin? Or maybe just this: A superb record from an artist with a tremendous potential? You choose.
Rating 8/10
