It isn't that it's the proverbial elephant in the room, but it is certainly a question that needs to be asked: who or what exactly are The Blizzards? This is the fourth album from the Mullingar band, which to all intents and purposes seems little more than a vehicle for the songwriting talents of singer/frontman, Niall Breslin (aka Bressie). And yet . . . and yet . . . there is little doubt that while Bressie looms centre stage, there is infinitely more forward-thinking input here from the other band members (lead guitarist Justin Ryan, bassist Louize Carroll, drummer Dec Murphy).

Combined effort

You can, perhaps, blame the pandemic for such a consistent application of combined effort, while the sense of people having time to write songs for themselves and not for label or industry expectations is patently obvious. In a press release statement, Bressie noted that the album “was about going back to the rawness of being in a garage band” and to that end, The Blizzards have mostly nailed it.

The title song, Magic in Misery, and Friction Burns are particularly good examples of prime time, raw pop/rock. It isn't all hunky-dory, mind: Great Party (You're Not Invited) might be taking 10cc's Dreadlock Holiday reggae vibe for too long a ride, while the meditative voiceover by Michael Harding towards the end of Something Grips You, Something Holds You seems sincere if misplaced.