First Steps Into

Blue States, Memphis Industries' first signing and mainstay of the label, are back with their fourth album. With First StepsInto, Blue States return whence they came, a one-man band as on the first album, Nothing Changes Under the Sun. Having previously worked with vocalist Tahita on the second album, Man Mountain, and turned into a full-fledged three-piece on the third, the Soundings, Blue States is again the sole work of Andy Dragazis, save for the able assistance of Sam Walker on drums and a string section. Heavily treated vocal duties are shared between Dragazis and Serena Strong. The album was recorded in Dragazis' studio in Whitechapel, scheduled around the next-door mosque's prayer time, and interrupted frequently by angry Imams. The album draws inspiration from Vangelis, Aphrodite's Child, the Moody Blues, David Axlerod, and Joe Meek, and Dragazis weaves a rare subtlety throughout, climaxing in 'Last of Old England' which builds from the bells of a Greek Orthodox church to an string-laden climax replete with Zeppelin drums. Lovely.