There is something visceral about the blues, something which grabs the heart with emotion which is far more felt than logical. It is a form which guitarists often fall back into, and such is the case here when Sebastian Eder (Avalon) started playing some blues sketches to singer Manou, who immediately set herself to writing lyrics and melodies to go with them. A band was soon created with Tal Bergman (Joe Bonamassa, Billy Idol, Rock Candy Funk Party, a.m.m.), Sebastian Eder (Avalon), Kevin Moore (Jennifer Rush) and Anders Olinder (Glenn Hughes) and here they are with the debut of 10 songs, 44 minutes long.

The blues is no place for a clean and clear singer, there needs to be some gravel and rawness, power, and passion, and in Manou they have just that. She combines melody with emotion, and we feel we are being invited into her story, becoming part of her existence. I was fortunate enough to see Mudbelly play live earlier this year, and their version of female-fronted blues is more aggressive and guttural, while Ivy Gold have it with one foot firmly in blues rock and the other in melodic rock. This means that it should appeal to both, although to my ears it is when they really allow themselves to be swallowed by the former that their strengths really come to the fore.

Manou is a great singer, who is definitely at her best when she can get down and dirty, and I hope the next album will find them with the confidence to go even more into that area, but as it is this is a fine debut and one which any fan of the genre will surely enjoy.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://ivygold.net/
https://a1records.de/