There really should be a genre of music called psychic blues for, with an album like “Night Turned Into Day” by Dutch blues band Sweet Bourbon, you simply know what it is going to sound like before you have listened to it or, for that matter, even thought about listening to it. From a reviewer’s point of view, this is a good thing as it saves me from actually having to read the press release and consequently saves me from wasting valuable drinking time.
In case you think I have just drowned in a sea of my own cynicism, I did actually play this album before writing these words although I was, admittedly, tempted to do otherwise. That is not, of course to cast aspersions on the musical abilities of Sweet Bourbon for they are effective purveyors of the kind of mainstream blues that keeps the many roots festivals across Europe in profit and, accordingly, they are always easy on the ears and might even cause a foot or two to tap in time to their respectful approach to what once was the music of the poor.
Of the songs, well, they are what they are and giving the people what they want is usually the right thing to do anyway with “Kicked Me Out” and “Enfants Terribles” most likely to make the crowds stand up for them.
No surprises here then but I don’t suppose that is the point. Sweet Bourbon play the music that they clearly love for an audience that probably feels much the same way about it and that’s what success is these days.