Black International - In Debt

Some records – good records – may strike us from the very beginning and settle in our hearts straight away, others may take a few more dedicated listens in order to acquire that new taste. There is also the occasional third category of good records, the one that slaps you on the face repeatedly as if saying “here I am”, and you can do very little but beg for the slapping to continue.

Fairly odd analogies aside, earlier this year such a bomb of a record found its way to me. From the city of Edinburgh comes this trio that, under the name of Black International, have the ability to grab all of the attention to themselves in the easiest (and loudest) possible way.

Black International have masterfully crafted a golden record that boasts quality and incredible savez-faire from start to finish. In Debt is the name of a record that floats comfortably in a messy sea of bands that have long attempted to recapture the essence and soul of grunge legends with very little success.

The keywords here are many. Quality - the band doesn’t innovate in the least but instead knows how and what to take and adapt in order  to create a set of brilliant tracks.  Wordsmith – the lyrics are clever through and through, they blend effortlessly in the music and stick in your head, causing your wish to chant along even in the solitude of your room. Consistency – such is the ability of this trio that it’s painfully difficult to pin down one track that stands out from the others, as the truth is you will find favourite after favourite in what is a fairly amazing album with not a single semi-disappointing track.

It is then unavoidable to place In Debt in the growing list of best albums of this year. What’s more is that what Black International does is bring out a certain something in the listener, placing new life in a dying genre. It grabs your interest but the best thing is that it can keep it and renew it, as so far I have found impossible to tire myself out of In Debt. Listen after listen the tracks transform themselves into anthems rather than boring or repetitive songs and the next step can only be learning the lyrics and chanting them like a crazy fool at one of their live gigs. I am a fan.