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The Blue Van
THE ART OF ROLLING
(TVT)
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If you’re going to mimic a musical movement, it might as well be the British Invasion. Denmark’s Blue Van pay unabashed tribute to the likes of the Who and the Kinks. Yet the band are loose enough to give The Art of Rolling an appealingly live feel. Steffen Westmark’s vocals, a cross between the bluster of Roger Daltrey and the nasal drawl of Ray Davies, add urgency, and though his guitar is in the foreground, organist Soren V. Christensen gives a Doorsy lilt to "I Remember the Days," "The Remains of Sir Maison," and the instrumental "The Bluventure." Bassist Allan F. Villadsen and drummer Per M. Jorgenson maintain a danceable groove and Westmark keeps his lyrics garage-band simple — "I want you/I need you/And nobody, nobody else but you" ("I Want You"). The gems are "What the Young People Want," with its chainsaw guitar riff, the acoustic ballad "Baby I’ve Got Time," and the epic closer "New Slough." Unlike the classic-rock-influenced Jet and Kings of Leon, the Blue Van don’t feel the need to put a modern finish on their scavenged hooks: "Revelation of Love" wouldn’t sound out of place on an oldies station sandwiched between "I Can’t Explain" and "Set Me Free."
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