For whatever reason, this band, The Blue Stones, keeps popping up, so I’ve finally decided to take notice. Several months back I heard a song of theirs playing on Sirius XM’s Octane, and just the other day I found out they’re playing at one of my favorite local venues this coming weekend. I may be otherwise occupied the day of the show, but it’s nice to know it’s an option. Anyway, with all of that in mind, I finally carved out a little bit of time to listen to their full-length record, Hidden Gems.
The first handful of notes of the opening track gave me real hope for this record, but unfortunately, as it went on, I found almost nothing remarkable about any of the songs. Don’t get me wrong, none of the songs were bad, but all but two of the tracks were completely forgettable. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so neutral about an album before. It’s kind of baffling. The exception to the rule I suppose were the tracks, “Spirit,” which is the song I heard on Octane and what put me on the band’s path in the first place, and the closing track “Oceans” carried a cool beat with it. Otherwise, I couldn’t really name anything of importance that happened during the other eight, too long, songs.
It’s quite strange that The Blue Stones didn’t really leave an impact on me. I say that because the vocals in this duo reminded me of both Missio and The Black Keys, both of whom I really enjoy. There were also a couple fleeting moments where I got a strong Highly Suspect vibe, but it disappeared almost as soon as I caught it. Suffice it to say, those other bands I just listed must have some it factor that The Blue Stones just haven’t managed to tap into yet. Now, I say that all as my opinion of the record. Surely, there are plenty of die-hard fans rocking out to this all the time. I just won’t be one of them. Something else a little odd that the band tried to do was mix in a little bit of hip hop. It was so close to working on a couple tracks, but it ultimately just sounded cheesy. I’d say for your first album, pick a genre and stick with it. Experimentation can come later.
Like I said before, overall Hidden Gems was just fine. Nothing was downright bad, but ultimately nothing was all that good. Most albums that I listen to manage to have at least one stand out song, but I think even the two good ones that I mentioned will probably manage to slip my mind this time next week. I don’t want to give up hope on this band and I look forward to what they produce in the future. Hopefully some more risk-taking and that thing that will make me click with their sound. If you’re looking for some decent new music though, go ahead and give this album a spin.