Brickyard - Hey you !

Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2018
Time:39:24 
Size:90,9 MB 
Label:Marista Music Company 
Styles:Rock/Blues Rock 
Art:Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. All alone - 5:19
 2. Brick in your face - 2:55
 3. Missing man formation - 4:02
 4. Now you `re gone - 3:57
 5. Ballad of the sea - 4:05
 6. Girls blues - 3:52
 7. Deadly war - 4:10
 8. Blue mood - 3:30
 9. Hey you - 3:32
10. Echo of my soul - 4:02

Brickyard is a band from the Netherlands.'Girl's Blues' is fortunately one of those blues tracks—fairly simple and straightforward—that, in my opinion, has a lot more substance than the rest of the songs. One option might be to bring in a second guitarist with a distinct style of their own, alternating between lead and rhythm to spice things up a bit. What I really miss on this album are a few carefully chosen covers of classics; that would elevate the album as a whole, because Brickyard can undoubtedly play well, though there is still plenty of room for improvement regarding songwriting and arrangement. The tracks were written by the band itself, but they aren't particularly strong 'rock' songs. The album doesn't strike me as the work of a blues band, but rather a rock band adding a bluesy touch here and there (mainly thanks to the harmonica player). Vocalist Monique Cillessen gives it her all on every track and occasionally sounds a bit like Sass Jordan, though I get the impression she has a bit less breath support than Jordan. It is striking that—despite Monique's efforts—I don't hear any backing vocals anywhere; it is quite difficult to sing a track to a real climax without them. Another factor that hinders the build-up of tension in the songs is that guitarist Ruud Maalderink plays almost all the rhythm parts the same way, introducing little to no variation during the verses (such as dropping the rhythm briefly to play a sexy guitar lick). A second part is only recorded during the guitar solos to keep the rhythm going, but unfortunately, the guitar tone used for the solo is virtually identical to the rhythm tone, making it feel like the solo gets in the way of the rhythm a bit. It does demonstrate (at least, I assume so) that Brickyard aims for a live sound; however, I know from experience that playing as the sole guitarist in a blues-rock band is technically demanding and places a heavy burden on the guitarist. One area where I find Maalderink particularly strong is his ability to balance right on the edge of feedback—a matter of having the right gear and knowing how to handle it. The drums don't really lend a bluesy feel to the songs. It’s not that I want to hear shuffles all the time, but the overall drumming reminds me a bit of the style of a rock band like Def Leppard—unfortunately, lacking in variety. I hear the keyboardist playing more of an accompaniment role than taking solos, and I also feel the Hammond organ is generally mixed a bit too far back. I mention this because I feel there is a lack of variety in the band members' playing.Fortunately, ‘Girl’s Blues’ is one of those blues tracks—fairly simple and straightforward, yet in my opinion, it has a lot more substance than the rest of the songs. One option might be to bring in a second guitarist with a distinct (different) style, allowing them to alternate between lead and rhythm parts to spice things up. What I really miss on this album is a few carefully chosen covers of classics; that would elevate the album as a whole, because Brickyard can undoubtedly play well, though there is still plenty of room for improvement in terms of songwriting and arranging ~ Patrick Engelen.

Hey you!
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