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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

Hailing from Belgium, The Black Box Revelation hasn’t got a specified sound. Well okay, to an extent they do, and I would dub it “Experimentation Beck”. The lead singer has that blocked-nose sound that Beck is renowned for, and puts it to good use in this sort-of-rock band. The guitars jangle and mesh from one chord to the next in “The Vines” kind of style with their same apparent effort-level. The occasional synthesiser and keyboard make cameos in a few songs

With this being their usual definable style (if, I hope, I’ve managed to define it in some sense), the song “Never Alone Always Together” can be seen as the ballad of their play list. It starts with an ominous, slow vibe made up of a continuing tambourine beat and country-esque slow guitaring. The first chorus marks the entry of more percussion and an additional guitar doing a more varied and quicker tune. And then these additions slowly drop out to

leave the few instruments playing as before.

No complex riffs or chord combination litter this quite relaxing song.

This could be very good to karaoke to; simple, slow, repetitive lyrics not outstretching the human vocal reach. It would also be very suitable to be the non-diegetic music in a western movie, and having some groovy cowboy fellow swaggering along in the desert-sand with this accompanying him.

If wanting to sample The Black Box Revelation, I would heartily not recommend this song to be your first port of call. Go for “Love Is On My Mind”; a much more upbeat and ‘I-don’t-give-a-fuck’ song that’s great for singing along to if you need cheering up – and more of an example of the band themselves. Background-wise, they’re on the T for Tune label and have just finished touring with Eagles of Death Metal. That might give you a better impression of them. They’re also currently touring on the famous South by Southwest festival in the good old US of A.

If you want an opinion from me on whether this band is ‘Yay or Nay’, then I’d be hard pressed to give you an answer. I would put them in the average box, with one foot hovering over the adjacent ‘good’ box. They don’t jump out as a band which are amazing and unique and boundary-breaking, but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. They’re fun to listen to and they get in your head.