Latest LP by The Blues Against Youth, ‘Apprentice’
James G. Carlson
Posted On July 6, 2016
Italian one-man band, Gianni TBAY, who records and performs under The Blues Against Youth, has released a new LP on Beast Records. Tilted Apprentice, this twelve-song record is the artist’s third full-length to date, and features a fair amount of material which suggests that he is ever dedicated to pushing his project forward. Still marked by primitive electric blues, alternative country, and rootsy rock ‘n’ roll, The Blues Against Youth’s Apprentice is a bit less rugged and dirty than his previous efforts, though decidedly of equal quality – the main differences being that these newer songs are somewhat more ambitious in composition and clearly show an improved musicianship.
Slightly distorted hollow-body six-string picking, steady foot-drumming, and vocals that might as well have been born in the mud and humidity of deep-south America or the dust and vast open spaces of the southwest, the songs on Apprentice all bear the distinct sound stamp of The Blues Against Youth. From the brief instrumental picker “Keep It Goin'” to the seven-minute title track and album closer “Apprentice,” Gianni holds the listeners ear, providing a musical experience which begs to be repeated.
Gianni TBAY has proven himself a productive artist over the years, with a few 7″ EPs, a split record with The Ribeye Brothers and another with The Cyborgs, and three full-length albums. He has also toured quite a bit, playing many shows at home and abroad, and sharing the stage with the likes of Bob Log III, Urban Junior, The Cyborgs, The Jackets, Reverse Cowgirls, King Automatic, The Big Sound of Country Music, Wasted Pido, Movie Star Junkies, and O Lendario Chucrobillyman, among many others.
With The Blues Against Youth, Gianni doesn’t just do the one-man band scene proud in specific; he also possesses a great deal of worth in the international roots scene in general. And the Apprentice release further proves this.
Apprentice is available in CD, LP, and digital formats Beast Records and TBAY.
Since there is any available media for Apprentice save for a few tracks at Bandcamp, I have included The Blues Against Youth’s video for “Dotted White Line,” which was on his 2014 split with The Cyborgs, to give readers an idea of what this artist does.
