Puget Sound

The Blakes - The Blakes

It's hard to describe the debut album from Seattle's The Blakes in one fell swoop. It opens with the swampy blues stomp of "Two Times," and you think you're getting a Pacific Northwest version of AC/DC. But that's immediately followed up with the propulsive beat of the Jesus and Mary Chain-like "Don't Bother Me," and a few songs later approaches Belle and Sebastian style chamber pop on "Lint Walk." It continues swinging between the yin and yang of flat out rock and pure pop over the course of its thirteen songs (fifteen if you snag it on iTunes). The common denominator throughout the album is that the songs are consistently great and catchy as hell. It's one of the strongest debut albums I've heard in a long time.

The Blakes - "Pistol Grip" (mp3)
The Blakes - "Two Times" (mp3)

The Blakes play a free in-strore at Grimey's in Nashville this Saturday, November 17 at 5 pm. It's a safe bet that it'll be awesome.