The Blue Hearts is the band that their home town of Brighton can be proud of, instead of averting its eyes from the electronic histrionics of Mr. Slim, it can now glory in the rich, velvety tales offered up by Dark Side Of Town. Although I've never been to Brighton, I find it hard to believe that its genteel reputation conceals the seamier side of life, so brilliantly and vividly portrayed here by The Blue Hearts. But from wherever the tales have sprung, they are intriguing and wonderfully atmospheric. The band is fronted by singer Bob Powell, a man with voice so rich, textured and laced with menace that a simple hello must seem like a portent of doom. Given that on Dark Side Of Town all the hearts are broken and the flowers wilted, comparisons with Cave and Cohen are understandable, valid and not at all over-flattering, The Blue Hearts reach the same depths as their illustrious fellow-travellers. But the growing suspicion is that there is a collective twinkle in the eye of the band, paradoxically it is first hinted at on Downhearted, surely nothing can be as bad or bleak as this song suggests. The smell of irony wafts through. Dark Side Of Town is built on the raw talent of its creators rather than clever construction. It is a back to basics album that revels in the absence of slick production. Mother Of Faith is a country song with a substantial amount of flesh on its bones, its both dark and solid. Neither The Blue Hearts nor Dark Side Of Town slot easily into any recognised pigeonhole. It hovers somewhere between gothic country and rock but what it does have is an irrepressible spark that keeps you listening and listening
Michael Mee - Americana UK
(Aug 5, 2005)