Lewis Tivey, aka The Hermit of the Kingdom, delivers something intense and messy in a good way with the album Bliss. Originally meant to be two EPs, the project accidentally turned into a full album, and honestly, that makes sense once you hear it. There’s too much energy, too many ideas and too much emotion here to be split apart neatly.
Right from the start, “Living The Dream” hits hard. Like, really hard. The riffs are heavy and hypnotic and what I loved most is how the vocals feel like a conversation between two people. Lewis Tivey switches tones in a way that makes it sound like two sides of the same mind arguing with each other. It works so well with the chaos of the instrumentation.
“Quote The Raven” pulled me in with the title alone and the raven imagery fits perfectly into the dark universe he’s building. The bass absolutely slaps here but I will be honest, it felt a bit messy. With voices layered over heavy instrumentation, I struggled to focus on the lyrics. Still, there’s something cool about how overwhelming it feels.
“If You Please” feels like a breather, even though it’s not calm at all. It just comes in with a different energy. I really liked the vocal effects on this one and the overall atmosphere it creates. The screaming didn’t always work for me, but I appreciated the mood and how spaced-out it felt compared to the tracks around it.
Then “NaySay” came in and completely won me over. Psychedelic guitar vibes straight away, vocals jump in almost instantly and suddenly I was nodding along within seconds. This is pure hype-up music. It’s loud, trippy and fun in a slightly unhinged way. Definitely one of my favourites on the album.
“Kajillion” is another highlight, mostly because of that hoarse, strained vocal delivery. One line it sounds raw and the next vulnerable with lines like “I appreciate it when you tell me I’m the one and only / So I can prepare to disappoint you”. There’s something really sad hiding inside all that distortion.
Again, “Renegade” starts off strong and as I’m a sucker for riffs, that intro was made for me. The rest of the song is solid, but it didn’t stick with me as much as some of the others. “Clandestine” was okay but not one that stayed in my head afterward. It flows nicely in the album, though, and doesn’t feel out of place.
“Faceless” instantly stood out just because it starts with drums. That alone changes the mood after the two previous tracks and I liked that shift. It felt like entering a new room in the same dark house.
“Incision” closes the album and even though punk/grunge and screaming aren’t really my thing, I actually enjoyed it and weirdly felt a bit sad it was the last track. It’s a rough, noisy ending but it suits the album perfectly.
Overall, Bliss really does live up to its name in a twisted way. It’s loud, gritty, uncomfortable at times and very personal. You can tell Lewis Tivey put everything into this; writing, recording, producing it all himself. Even when it’s messy at times, it feels exactly how it’s supposed to.
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