Fizzy Blood have released their debut album ‘Pan Am Blues’.
The 13-track release showcases a plethora of genres spotlighting their versatility, from the indie rock realms from ‘Flavour of the Month’ to experimental ‘When it All Falls Apart’.
Alongside the album, the band has also released an accompanying YouTube series, co-written and directed by themselves.
To celebrate the album release, Fizzy Blood shared with us five tracks that influenced ‘Pan Am Blues’.
Haim – The Steps | Listen via Spotify (Jake Greenway, Drums)
When we went into the studio to record the album our aim was to marry the warm energetic 70s feel of recording the whole band live to tape with more modern R&B production sensibilities. I don’t think I quite knew how much this could work until I heard this track, then it all made sense to me. The wall of acoustic guitars married with the booming 808-sounding kick drum sounds so familiar but fresh at the same time, obviously, the tune being absolutely knock-out helps too. The whole album is produced absolutely amazingly and really helped re-affirm what we were trying to do on this record, so thank you, Danielle Haim, Rostam Batmanglij, and Ariel Rechtshaid!
Calvin Harris ft. Frank Ocean & Migos – Slide | Listen via Spotify (Benji Inkley, Guitars & Vocals)
Back when we were writing the album I was listening to a whole bunch of different types of music. A song I loved the vibe of was ‘Slide’. By intention, Frank sings it lazily which I thought (and still do think) sounded incredible. I definitely tried to emulate that type of style vocally at various points throughout the record. I hadn’t really sung in that kind of space before so we had to navigate the learning curve as we figured out what worked and what didn’t.
Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough | Listen via Spotify (Paul Howells, Guitars)
Something about the way that the rhythm section locks in to make something really danceable, and the strings float on top doing their thing feels quite emblematic of the heights we wanted to reach on this record. And the 70’s Quincy style production, where everything feels tight but organic is an element of what we aspired to from a production point of view. When we were making this album, there was a HUGE spectrum of artists and styles that inspired various ideas or aspects of ‘Pan Am Blues’, but I found myself constantly returning to this song as a point of reference, particularly on tracks like ’10:23′ and ‘Centre Of Nowhere’.
The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations | Listen via Spotify (Ciaran Scanlon, Bass)
The production and structure on this song were a big influence on me as it incorporated unique synth sounds and percussion that were ahead of its time. By doing this, it gives the song a special overall sound. The group harmonies and bass on this song were also referenced, as they heavily influence and support the main vocal line.
Big Thief – Cattails | Listen via Spotify (Tim Malkin, Guitars)
I was absolutely obsessed with this tune while we were working on the album. I love how it feels so natural, I believe that it was almost recorded by accident with the singer and drummer making it up as they went. It’s maybe not super clear what the influence of this tune has on our album sonically but I think in terms of attitude, we definitely tried things we would normally have been too embarrassed to share with each other.
Listen to Fizzy Blood’s debut album ‘Pan Am Blues’ via Spotify:
Watch Fizzy Blood’s video for new track ‘Flavour of the Month’ below:
Main Image Credit: © Steven Haddock