It’s good to occasionally step back and thank the stars for the bands that do still care about heritage, care about doing it live and still salute the starting points that brought us here. Like Rival Sons and Northern Ireland’s The Answer, Blues Pills have always fed off an education of rock, blues and soul, and while they’ve developed their sound over the years, this fourth album is equally built to reach out to, and connect with, humanity. Vocalist Elin Larsson, a remarkable presence and voice onstage, was in the latter stages of pregnancy while completing the aptly christened Birthday, and there’s something of that strength, love and maturity in all 11 of these new songs. While the band still take Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin’s high voltage witchcraft as their bricks and mor...