Beggars Bliss – Beggers Bliss
Beggars Bliss – Beggers Bliss
Self Release
Release Date: 21/05/26
Review by Jon Deaux
7/10
I was having a perfectly unproductive evening, just as one should, and then someone went and ruined it for me with this press release under my door like a restaurant promotion for a restaurant nobody wants to eat at: “Blues rock. Derby. Debut album. May.” Well, it seems there is someone in the East Midlands who is absolutely fascinated with the pentatonic scale, and it’s my job to be fascinated too.
If you’re going to ruin my evening, at least give me something to care about.
Beggars Bliss – the name is like a punchline, but it’s a very good one – arrive on the scene in 2026 with ten tracks and all the attitude you can muster before you’re old enough to be embarrassed to admit the truth. Their debut is the kind of album you’d want to like more than you’d ever admit to while sipping someone else’s wine at the table. It’s shamelessly sincere, and they’re very good with their instruments, too. You can tell it’s been worked out in the rehearsal space, tested out on unsuspecting victims all over the Midlands, and eventually just becomes second nature to them instead of actual skill, which is just infuriating.
The first track, ‘I Am I,’ starts off with a riff that’s been around since before you were even born, but plays it so passionately that your foot’s tapping before you even know it’s happening. It’s a song about the arguments you have in your head after the other person’s left, and how they just get progressively worse the more you think about them. Beggars Bliss aren’t exactly the kind of band that gets a lot of sleep, and although this is great for their music, it’s maybe a little bad for them.
‘Peaches N’ Cream’ is their bread and butter, and quite frankly, they’re getting it right. It’s got that energy, you know? The kind of energy that’s like, “This is a bad idea, and it’s going to be terrible,” but then you listen to it some more and suddenly you’re a fan. Overdriven, a little bit dirty, and then the chorus just kicks in, puts its feet up, and gets out the wallpaper and some paint. The harmonies are bold, almost dominating. By the third time around, you’re not even trying anymore.
Then there’s ‘Dusk ‘Till Dawn.’ Now this is a sad one. It’s the after party. The noise is over, and you’re left with the memory of what was there and what’s now gone. That’s where they get the blues out of blues rock. Maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean? You know they’ve been there, and it’s coming through loud and proud.
The album was recorded by Natt Webb, and somehow, this guy has managed to survive working with The Struts. That, in itself, is an achievement. He recorded the album at RatCat Studios, and the man essentially just let the band get on with it. That, as far as I’m concerned, is exactly what the album needed. It breathes, the music hangs in the air, and it’s not stiff or sterile. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but all the right edges, and you can tell it wasn’t recorded in some dingy box room in Shoreditch.
Now, of course, around the middle, the album gets a little tired. You know, as debut albums tend to get. Especially when they have thirty songs and have to narrow it down to ten. Maybe they didn’t cut enough. “Butterfly” is alright. It’s trying its best. We’re moving on.
And yes, the influences— well, you can tell the Black Stone Cherry stuff a mile off. It’s a bit like that, a bit too obvious. Sometimes it’s like you’re diving into their record collection, carefully put together and perhaps a little too reverently. It would be nice to see a bit more shaking up in their work.
But then you hear ‘Spiralling’ and all of these criticisms simply vanish. It’s edgy, it’s restless, it’s got a lot of introspection, a lot of exploring of self-doubts in the way only the best songs about messing up can manage. It’s as if they wrote it in a hurry and then trimmed it back to the essentials. ‘Rabbit Hole’ is more of the same, introspective but not whiny or self-indulgent. They’ve looked inside and found something a bit rough and then written it out and that’s great.
It’s one gal and three guys (keep it clean, you mucky lot) from Derby doing music because it makes them feel alive, and then going out and proving to the world over the course of two years that they were right to think that. They are not going to change the game. They don’t need to. They play loudly, they play with passion, and they make a difference, a small one perhaps, but a difference nonetheless, and that is something that many bands cannot boast on their first go.
They will be playing the Oakley Stage at Northants Rocks this July, supporting Breed 77 and Hacktivist, and you know what? If you are out in the field and you go and get a burger while they are on stage, then fair play to you, but let me make one thing very clear to you: I will be keeping an eye out for you, and I will be a little disappointed.
TRACK LISTING:
01. I Am I
02. Forbidden Fruit
03. Peaches N’ Cream
04. Train Song
05. Dusk ‘Till Dawn
06. I’m On Fire
07. Sunshine
08. Butterfly
09. Spiralling
10. Rabbit Hole
LINKS
Official website: www.beggarsbliss.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beggars.bliss
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beggarsbliss
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beggarsblissband
