Blacklight Hotel – “Echo”
Blacklight Hotel – “Echo” – Single Review
OKAY! Now we’re talkin’ y’all…Blacklight Hotel is freakishly exciting!
Not that I should be all that surprised by that fact…but we’ll get to why that is in a bit here. For the moment, suffice it to say, I’m absolutely THRILLED about the way this debut single has come out. There’s really no better feeling in the life of a music critic than when the real ‘work’ becomes trying to figure out which awesome element of what we’re listening to will be the one we choose to discuss first. You know what I mean? I’m completely spoiled for choice when it comes to Blacklight Hotel…this band sounds like they’re going to fully scorch the earth and set the world on fire with their very first single.
Right away, from the uniqueness of the drums from Kris Ayala that you’ll hear in “Echo” and the killer beat that’s established within mere seconds, you KNOW you’re in for something seriously badass with this song. You factor in the steadiness and depth of the bass tones provided by Daniel Risley, and it’s crystal clear the rhythm section is on-point. Then you move to the guitars from Eric Davis and Jennifer Valdez, and you can FEEL the drama that is already being savagely unleashed in this single. Valdez is a TSUNAMI OF AWESOMENESS when she begins to sing…and by the point that she does, it pretty much felt like “Echo” practically had everything we’d wanna hear! To experience the difference that she makes in taking what was obviously going to be a stellar song under just about any circumstance based on the remarkable musicianship…and turning it into one of the most UNDENIABLY EXPLOSIVE and addictive songs you’re gonna hear this year…if I didn’t know how to type & navigate my way around this kind of feeling, I’d just be speechless y’all. The writing here on “Echo” is every bit as impressive as the performance – and that is an incredible achievement given the fact that you’ll be lucky to hear anything that rivals what Blacklight Hotel has done in that regard…not just this year, but basically EVER. The commitment, focus, CONVICTION…good gravyboat lighthouse y’all – it is EVERYWHERE you turn your head to listen. The main hooks…no joke…are beyond brilliant. Jennifer hits the title with profound power that will PUSH AIR WITH FORCE straight outta your speakers – and shifts the whole course of “Echo” for being a gripping debut into an all-out award-worthy song. Listening to this amazing lady build up her nuclear energy until the moment it’s time to release it in full through the main hooks, is nothing short of awe-inspiring. That she’s got such extraordinary raw power AND such a gift for melody makes her straight-up superhuman…that’s not an opinion, that’s a FACT…and trust me, you’ll agree with me 100% when you have a listen for yourselves. There are absolutely NO WEAK POINTS in this song, or indeed within this band…everything about what Blacklight Hotel is doing sounds like it was completely meant to be, and the resounding passion, purpose, and intent they play with will take them right to the top. “Echo” is Alt-Rock at its finest, most intense & stunningly melodic…all at once…and it’s marvelous.
I have witnessed the greatness of Jennifer Valdez in the past through a band called Keys And Vices that was around about four years ago…so believe me when I tell ya, I know what she’s capable of, I know how INSANELY SKILLED and awesome she genuinely IS – and somehow, she STILL blew me away with what I heard on “Echo.” She’s such a force to be reckoned with that you couldn’t possibly miss it, you know what I mean? The kind of singer that lights up a microphone so damn hard that every head in the room is guaranteed to turn and pay complete & total attention to her every word. Armed with a band that is wickedly talented like she’s got here in Blacklight Hotel…man…they should ALL be as stoked as I am about how “Echo” came out, and setting their sights on nothing less than WORLD DOMINATION. It’s like the raging spiritualistic vibes & aura of a singer like Morissette, combined with an untamed Eddie Vedder with everything still to prove back on Ten, with the intensity & depth you’d find in a Quicksand song, and then yet still somehow even better than that description could ever allude to. I am EXCITED about everything I’ve heard from Blacklight Hotel on this first single and CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE. “Echo” is supremely kickass by every conceivable definition…it is EPIC – this whole band gets a massively enthusiastic green light from me – I have no doubt that this is the perfect combination of talent & vision that is destined to get noticed by everyone listening.
Find out more about Blacklight Hotel at their official page at Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/blacklight_hotel
Find out what we do & how we do it at sleepingbagstudios, and be the next up on our pages by clicking here!
