There is an old adagio, in the music world, which states that very often, great records come out from the pen of a songwriter in the artist’s most dark and struggling moments, moments that dig, evidently, very deeply into the artist’s soul, pushing out a relentless outpouring of emotions and inspired songwriting episodes.
Well, that may be true, but it may be also true that when said artists emerge victorious from these challenging personal moments, the creativity and the inspiration can still flow freely and highly, meaning that fundamentally, no matter at what stage one can be in life, if you are predisposed with natural talent, you will always be able to write inspired music material.
In some respects, this is something that may mirror a little the later years of the artistic and personal life of the English guitarist and singer/songwriter Big Boy Bloater, somebody that, throughout his very respectable 25 years in the music business, has faced high and low moments, which have not stopped him anyway by releasing records receiving an enormous commercial appreciation, despite going through personal challenging times, as successful records like the 2016 Luxury Hobo record and the subsequent one called Pills (2018), have proven to be.
After a seven years hiatus from releasing studio albums (besides the self-produced and self-released 2022 Live album), a time in which the English artist decided to move from English to France and build his own Home Recording Studio, Big Boy Bloater has emerged now with a brand new record called Dirty Disco Blues, an album that supposes to be, according to the artist himself, inspired by watching an old 70’s episode of the English Tv Show Top Of The Pops, where music, back then, created an energizing and exciting amalgamation of genres from Disco to Soul, to Funk, Blues, Boogie, Cajun etc.
Set to be released on 31st March, Dirty Disco Blues is a record that finds Big Boy Bloater in a much more happier place on many levels; while his notorious (to his fans) passion for everything having sci-fi and horror movies connotations is expressed once again in delightful ways in songs like Kensington Gore, The Devil Went Down To rehab and the album closer Escape From The Planet Of The Humans, Big Boy Bloater’s approach to music has very much broadened to new territories, on this album.
The English guitarist and singer/songwriter offers once again plenty of entertainment, on his brand new record, from hilarious sonic dittos like I Don’t Miss You As Much As I Thought I Would or Shut Up!, among others, to then explore more Folk musical alleyways, as expressed in one of the tenderest moments of the record, a song called I’m A Lucky Old So & So.
In all that, Big Boy Bloater’s moves musically throughout the whole of Dirty Disco Blues in a very effortless and very convincing way into Boogie, Rock, Disco, R&B, Soul and much more with such strength and energy, always giving the feeling that he is highly enjoying himself, at this stage of his career, something that is displayed perfectly in each of the 10 songs included in BBB’s new album.
Dirty Disco Blues is a record that carries plenty of musical pleasure, either in its more up-tempo numbers or the slower ones. Moreover, Big Boy Bloater’s new album is the reflection of an artist and a human being that is enjoying life and music at the same pace, infusing his music with the same energy and joie-de-vivre that has always characterized his music to date. A very appreciated and welcomed return for a very inspired artist.
Dirty Disco Blues is due to be released on 31st March 2025 and can be purchased via Big Boy Bloater's Official Website
