I remember just 5 years ago, I put between my ears the first album of 'Laura Cox', 'Hard Blues Shot', which had been one of the French revelations of 2017 and which showed that France also knows how to make good direct and effective rock if we does not limit himself to listening to the French radios which impose on us the few artists of the big majors. The second album 'Burning Bright' in 2019 confirmed all this talent, with the added bonus of a UK tour. The Covid years are now behind us and the Frenchwoman has had time to concoct a new album for us, called 'Head Above Water'.
No surprise, still very good in this last opus which mixes for the best, blues, country, rock and hard rock. Laura is now recognized both in France and abroad and Spotify has just put her at the top of its page 'EQUAL France'. She also continues to share this passion for the guitar by making videos like when she started with, for example, the explanation of certain riffs from her latest album (see here).
And so we started with the title track and if you don't have an irresistible urge to move your whole body to the rhythm of its addictive riffs, you can go your own way. For anyone who's ever hit the headbanging machine, you should definitely stick with tracks like 'One Big Mess' (great little riff at 1.25), 'Wiser' (see video above), 'Fever' or even 'Swing it Out' which are so many well-soaked hard rock jewels to play over and over again. But 'Laura Cox' also excels in compositions with a more moderate rhythm: we will not miss 'So Long' and its marked tempo (see video here), and we can also mention the blues/rock 'Set Me Free' and the very beautiful ' Before We Get Burned' and 'Seaside' with country sounds, without forgetting the magnificent ballads 'Old Soul' and 'Glassy Days'. We can also note an irreproachable production which highlights all this authenticity released throughout the 11 compositions but also to highlight the three artists who accompany it while deploring all the same the departure of the guitarist 'Mathieu Albiac' who greatly contributed to the band's first two albums.
In short, nothing to throw away in this album, we still have a wonderful time listening to this latest baby from 'Laura Cox', and 'Head Above Water' should be an additional step for the Frenchwoman with the change of line up which, I hope, is a personal choice of musical orientation and not a choice dictated by people outside the group with a more mercantile than artistic objective... | |
