. . . By Blood Alone, playing a release show at Geno’s this Saturday, July 16, are certain to have a merch table set up. They’ve been building buzz toward this release for months and you should expect a seriously tight set to kick this disc off. The four songs on the EP might not be exactly what you were expecting, however. By the look and name of them, By Blood Alone project a pretty heavy disposition, but the four songs here are loaded with pop elements and other points of accessibility for the non-goth listener.
The disc is dominated, especially, by vampy, repeating riffs culled from a spacey keyboard and slightly dirty guitar, which you’ll hear right away on the opening “Every Night.” Lead vocalist Cruella starts things with a somewhat monotone delivery – “in my dreams, we have to run – treading in Dungeons and Dragons-style mythic lyrics about fighting for your life and being on the run. Sure, it’s dark.

But the chorus gets downright cheery when she drops the monotone for a singalongable strain that’s backed by major chords and then followed by a good ripping guitar solo at the three-minute mark. That hair metal element is countered for good measure in “Eternally,” by an extended guitar jam that could easily fit in on one of the more grimy Widespread Panic discs. And “Deny Yourself,” which starts off wondering “what happens when the wind stops blowing” features Cruella’s voice at its sweetest, not quite as emotive as on other tunes, but clearer and more inviting.

The product as a whole might remind you of what the B-52s would sound like if they penned an album right after all their dogs died in a freak electrical storm.”