It’s been quite a few years since we heard from our friends, The Blood Rush Hour. This fine New Jersey-oriented musical aggregate, directed by the brilliant mind of Robert DeStefano returns after a hiatus (not surprisingly, the pandemic had a hand in it) with yet another headtrip of musical/lyrical/melodic brilliance.
Sanity Fare is an automatic classic, on first listen. This is not bias; it is fact. If you could imagine rolling all the greats in to one: Lennon/McCartney, Brian Wilson, Bell/Chilton and a list too long of others, you have this. And it’s impossible not to lap it up and instantly love it. Opening up with – if you can follow the logic and notes – “My Invention”, which is now-standard Blood Rush Hour fare (!): a melding of The Beach Boys meet Queen meet Todd Rundgren and go wild. The skill, talent and chops to pull something like this off is near-impossible, but The Blood Rush Hour do it with loose-limbed aplomb. Immediately seguing in to “Within This Tragedy”, there are moments of Yes-like movements (and if you don’t like it, too bad!) – listen to those vocal arrangements and the on-the-one playing; it’s just too damned good. “No One’s There (At All)” is one of those songs I often refer to as “the single that could have been in a just world” – something you can easily imagine hearing on a car radio, sandwiched between Elton John and some classic like “The Last Song”.
“Here We Go Again” is one of the more adventurous moments; key shifts with quasi-prog arrangements but still pop-py to keep you listening intently – simply, a musical delight (and possibly, the album’s highlight); “Intermezzo” is a beautiful, languid instrumental that carries the listener adrift on a moment of pure joy – a stunning surprise; “Tunnel’s End” is a 100-m.p.h. blast of multi-layered firepower wrapped in a raised eyebrow of cynicism (I may be misinterpreting it, but…): “…so if there’s a light at tunnel’s end/I would somehow need to first divine…” and “See You Again” is the proverbial “follow up” single in my universe/mind – a twanging, rollicking piece of pure pop exquisiteness.
Hyperbole is easy – writing about a work of music (in this case), art, literature, etc. is difficult. Especially when you’re revisiting someone who you haven’t heard from in a while. And it feels like six years haven’t passed since the last Blood Rush Hour release. If anything, it’s a welcome return from a musical entity that is sorely needed.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – A MUST
Sanity Fare is currently available
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