Nine Blind Ravens at Studio 2, Liverpool. Photograph by Maddie Stenberg.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The sound of a new set of heroes gathering in the dark is always a welcome echo of what is to come, the finding of a new band in which to hang your love upon, something in which nothing else can ever touch with perhaps the exception of that first electric kiss as a teenager.
As the evening gears up for the launch of Cal Ruddy’s E.P. launch, Studio 2 on Parr Street is somehow urged on by the arrival of Nine Blind Ravens, the sublime eclectic feel of passion and glory wrapped up in the sound of the positive vibes, the unleashed and the reliable, it was a support that blew the senses away and on any other day would have been one in which the swish of the attendees pens would have worked overtime in their secret hidden diaries that evening.
As it was, the audience were greeted by the band and the knowing smile that gleamed from the stage set out what was a truly remarkable set of songs, the deepness of the lyrics only topped by the musicianship and the groove that resonated across the space of Studio 2. It was one of those moments where you could see upon the faces of all the growing interest and the hypnotic spell weaved, a sheer delight wrapped up in the arms of active and optimistic delivery.
In songs such as All This Time, Those Words, the tremendous Somewhere To Be Alone, Truth, the absorbing Penniless and Living Free, Nine Blind Ravens took the crowd down a road to which was surrounded by the lush and the affectionate and whilst being completely hypnotised by the sound, the real majesty of the performance was in the way that even being a member short on the evening didn’t detract from the aural spectacle; a measure of just how much the band work together and without the cruelty of ego getting in the way of very good song writing.
A new band of heroes to admire, their musical talent slung over their shoulders in search of the next adventure, yet as the night went on in Studio 2, there were many who craved just another round with the Nine Blind Ravens.
Ian D. Hall