There’s a very specific kind of danger in writing a song called It’s Called Love…It’s Called The Blues. You’re either about to deliver something timeless and quietly devastating… or you’re about to wander into parody territory wearing a waistcoat you didn’t earn. Thankfully, Brisbane’s WATTMORE land closer to the former — even if they occasionally flirt with the latter when they get a bit too comfortable with their own aesthetic.
Dark folk rock is one of those genres that’s absolutely littered with lads whispering about heartbreak over an acoustic guitar like they’re auditioning for a Peaky Blinders montage, but WATTMORE manage to sidestep that cliché by sounding like they’ve actually lived through the shit they’re singing about. There’s a looseness to this track that works in its favour — it doesn’t feel polished within an inch of its life. It creaks a bit. It staggers slightly in places. And that’s exactly why it hits.
The mouth organ is the obvious wildcard here, but instead of turning the whole thing into some busker-by-numbers blues jam, it’s used with just enough restraint to add texture rather than novelty. When it kicks in, it feels like the emotional exhale the rest of the instrumentation’s been building towards. There’s a dusty, late-night-roadside-bar energy to it that gives the song an atmosphere most modern folk-rock tracks are too scared to lean into because they’re too busy chasing Spotify algorithm approval.
The mid-section drifts ever so slightly into comfort-zone territory, like they found a groove and decided to just sit in it with a pint instead of pushing the dynamics somewhere more interesting. A bit more tension — a dirtier guitar tone here, a more aggressive harmonic shift there — could’ve elevated it from a really solid slow-burner into something that genuinely lingers.
And while the stripped-back production suits the storytelling angle they’re going for, it occasionally borders on too safe. For a band that clearly trade on grit and mischief, there are moments where you wish they’d let the track unravel a bit more instead of keeping everything neatly boxed in. Blues, at its best, should feel like it’s about to fall apart at any second.
Still, there’s a confidence here that suggests WATTMORE aren’t interested in quick wins or viral moments — which, let’s be honest, is exactly the kind of long-game thinking RGM’s always banging on about when it comes to building something that actually lasts. It’s Called Love…It’s Called The Blues might not punch you in the face straight away, but give it a few listens and it’ll absolutely start living rent-free in your head. Just don’t expect it to ask permission first.
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