Bleech - Nude

It’s a long held musical principle that grunge and Britpop were sworn adversaries with the Britpop wave, led firstly by Suede, Elastica and Blur, intending to do away with the scourge of grunge for good. This is not entirely accurate however as there were a number of bands who tried to appropriate both sounds. East London three-piece Bleech are a group who operate at that midpoint between sugary anthemic melodies and aggressive guitar rock. The band’s debut album ‘Nude’ is a punchy and direct collection of straight ahead indie-rock, however the air of mid-nineties and by proxy mid-noughties revivalism hangs heavy over the record.

‘Nude’ is an album very much rooted in big rock songs with exuberant melodies. The opening three tracks are a good example of Bleech’s sound with the ringing clear voice of singer Jennifer O’Neil very much to the fore. ‘Break My Nose’ and ‘Weirdo’ have a pleasing crunch to them coming across like a more aggressive version of Sleeper while ‘Monday’ could be a dead ringer for a track by The Subways.

Bleech certainly know their away around a great hook and that is why it is so disappointing that far too many tracks lapse into rather witless shouted choruses, for example the stodgy rock of ‘I Wanna Be Me’. This album’s best moments are instead provided by the more sedate moments that offer an indication of the band’s melodic abilities. ’Flowerhands’ is an excellent beguiling piece of subtle folk with finger picked acoustic guitar and delicate strings replacing overblown guitars. O’Neil’s voice sounds gentle and exposed; it is a fleeting moment of real beauty.

Finale ’When I Get Old’ is another track imbued with an emotive sense of melancholy and its languid sigh is another example of the benefits of toning the guitars down ever so slightly.

‘Nude’ is an album that attempts to combine both the power of grunge-rock and the hooks of indie-pop into one concise package. It is a sound that has been heard many times before and works with only limited success here. It is in the quietest moments that Bleech’s charms really come out; perhaps they could be a blueprint for the future.