Bluebottle Kiss - Doubt Seeds
Review by Steph Edwardes

The release of a double CD record (that’s got nothing to do with the words “greatest hits”) is a fine effort in itself, but to produce such a thing which avoids sounding laboured, unnecessarily drawn out or flooded with obligatory filler is a real achievement. This seems to come from Bluebottle Kiss’ initial idea – to create a record with flow, a bunch of songs that all made sense in the company of each other, and letting it ride as long as it needed to. ‘Doubt Seeds’ could have ended up as a regular longplayer, but the band felt that wasn’t enough to tell the whole story. Their suspicions are correct – while there are no ‘Hasten The Blows’ this time around, there are twenty chapters that complete the whole, and while the absence of a small part may have gone unnoticed, the exclusion of a number of them would have been to the record’s detriment. 
On ‘Doubt Seeds’, there’s a connection between the songs without Bluebottle Kiss ever falling into the trap of similarity from one track to the next. It’s testament to songwriter Jamie Hutchings’ diverse musical background and influences, unafraid to switch it up between adventurous sonic territory and easier going contemplation, with a voice that can handle all aspects of the spectrum with ease. Simply put… he is one talented man, and combined with the remaining Bluebottle Kiss members and their musical execution, this record was also going to be a winner before the first notes had been laid down. But we knew this already, based on what the band have offered in the past, except this record excels in that it can proclaim itself as Bluebottle Kiss’ most accomplished work to date, one with an inspiring focus and one that deserves all the appreciation it will receive.