I close my eyes and count to ten for it is Christian rock time again. If memory serves, this is the third album by Paul Brendon Lile to make its way through the hellmouth at Bluesbunny Towers and, with “Blood Water Fire” being a good strong title, could you fight demons with the songs contained within?
Well, not really. Paul Brendon Lile has a good voice and can testify up there with the best of the white boys but, like too many singer songwriters these days, he has progressed from playing with himself to playing pretty much everything himself. The result, predictably, is an album cursed with banality. Nothing wrong with the songs and they are undoubtedly from the heart but the leaden performance drags things down, down down and, as our Mr. Lile is also responsible for the awkward production, he gets to take all the blame. I’m not sure if self-indulgence is a sin but, let’s face it, it should be for musicians.
Still, it is a bit of a shame that praying to Jesus hasn’t got Paul Brendon Lile a few more pals to join in and liven up these songs as the Devil has been getting it a bit too easy of late.
Available from Bandcamp.