Neon Blonde is the side project of Blood Brothers singer Johnny Whitney and drummer Mark Gajadhar; and the relation between the two groups is no secret. Granted, Johnny Whitney has one of the most distinctively shrill vocal styles in all of rock and roll, but the opening number on Chandeliers in the Savannah, ‘Black Cactus Killers’ could have easily appeared on any Blood Brothers album.
From there, things certainly go their own way, however. Drum machines kick in “Crystal Beaches Never Turned Me On,” and “Chandeliers and Vines” churns out a piano-driven Bowie-esque rock ballad with a spazz rock crescendo.
Whitney is truly an enigmatic vocal force. Over all the years he has been an ostensible performing artist, he doesn’t have an inherently recognized personal life. No one seems to really know much more about him than his swagger and talent. Chandeliers offers a little peak of insight at times, with it’s more slowed down numbers especially. We get a sense of Whitney’s sensitivity, and it’s intriguing, therefore, for any BB fan.
With a pleasingly varied collection of stylistic musical approaches, Neon Blonde’s debut LP has plenty to enjoy, and nothing to detest.
