The Blackwater Fever - “The Hurt”

Photo on previous page by Colin Bushell.

With a name like The Blackwater Fever, they sound exactly the way that you hope they will sound: ‘70s fuzz galore and that raspy, bluesy vocal style that has been modernized by artists like Dan Auerbach and his career in The Black Keys. The Blackwater Fever’s latest single is aptly called “The Hurt” and anyone listening will hang on every word entering their earholes, thanks to Shane Hicks’ talent for sounding heartbreakingly convincing.

“The Hurt” is not a song that will melt your face off; it’s not blazing down the highway at 150 bpm. In fact, this track is a raw, bluesy ballad; however, it is also proof that you only need three or four chords to write something that sounds like gold. As long as the rhythm section has their chops in order (spoilers: they do) and the vocalist has passion and charisma (spoilers: he does), you can crank out a gem that will hold its own next to anything currently sitting in any Top 10 list.

Side note: these guys are not your everyday indie band submitting music for a review. In fact, I’m not even sure how they found us or how they thought we could help, but their successes include having their music featured on Showtime’s Shameless, as well as touring with Tame Impala and the aforementioned The Black Keys. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to hearing more from these Brisbane rockers, provided they don’t get so big that they forget about us.

-TM