Reviews

Strong blues from England (pigeon google translation,see swedish review below, realistic translation w/be most appreciated)

Zoë Schwarz Blue Commotion is ranked as one of the premier blues bands in England. Now it's up to a new album.

The band's fourth album since its...

Formed in 2012, Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion have hit a stride over the past few years, releasing four studio albums, including their recent This is the Life I Choose, and climbing a musical ladder that has taken them to the top of the British Blues scene.  Zoe Schwarz releases her dusky...

If it weren’t for ‘60s Brits like Brian Jones, John Mayall, Peter Green, Eric Clapton and Alvin Lee, it definitely would’ve taken my teenaged Jersey soul much longer to discover American blues. So here I sit at 66 hearing how the Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion takes that history and...

Too often, in nowadays music world, artists feel like they have to adhere to certain standards, because they know or they think to know what fans are expecting from them, musically speaking. That philosophy generates frequently very monotone albums, with the same musical structure running...

I have reviewed Zoe Schwarz before so when I saw her CD arrive for potential review, I was quite excited at the prospect of hearing more from her. This British band borrows and (I mean this in the most complimentary way) steals a lot of American stylings in their compositions; yet retains...

Never has a title been more apt than This Is The Life I Choose for what is Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion’s fourth studio album since 2012. On top of two other live recordings and a relentless touring schedule, this amounts to an unprecedented dedication to playing the blues. However, it is...

In this hour special Pete Feenstra chats to Zoe Schwarz and Rob Koral and features tracks from their latest album - 'This Is The Life I Choose' - released in March 2017.       The two musicians had worked together for a decade before forming Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion in...

With three studio albums under Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion’s belt the fourth is definitely not running out of steam, it is full throttle blues. The blues are stylish, a mix of pathos and humour, reflections and looking forward, sadness and hints of joy.

With hundreds of gigs notched...

Blues In Britain, one of the four picks of the month by the IBBA (UK's Independent Blues Broadcasters Association) presenters. 

Another glowing review from Making A Scene writer Rhetta Akamatsu:

Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion is a British band with a powerhouse vocalist, electrifying guitarist, amazing Hammond oiganist,, and rock-steady drummer. Their new album, "This Is The Life I Choose," proves them to be...

Something about this band that really hits a spot. Guitar, Hammond and drums plus soulful and jazzy vocals and a bunch of well written and punchy songs. What is not to like?

This is their 4th studio album and you can hear the chemistry of the band in every passage, playing to each...

Indeed, ‘This Is The Life I Choose’ is brimming with a sense of adventure and sundry possibilities that gives vocalist Zoe Schwarz the kind of breadth she needs to bring her interpretive abilities to bear on some wide ranging material.

And in an age when the blues genre is swamped...

Het Verenigd Koninkrijk is maar een paar uurtjes van ons kleine landje vandaan en toch horen we met regelmaat het geklaag dat we altijd maar diezelfde bands moeten aanzien. Niet kennen? Deze Zoë Schwarz heeft de laatste vijf jaar telkens een album op de markt gebracht en is dut alvast geen...

RIKTIGT STARK HELA VÄGEN

Fjärde plattan från detta brittiska bluesfenomen är en riktig kram av varmt sväng, tighta musiker och en vokalist som imponerar rakt igenom. Influerade av bland annat Cream, Etta James, Led Zeppelin, Billie Holiday, John Scofield och många fler serveras...

Es gibt Alben, die einen schon beim ersten Hören verblüfft innehalten lassen. Mit "This Is The Life I Choose" haben Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion eine Scheibe veröffentlicht, die sich von Song zu Song immer mehr entfaltet und eine Bandbreite zwischen Blues, Jazz, Soul und Rock vor dem Hörer...