Unsigned Act Of The Week: The Bloody Nerve

The Bloody Nerve are an underground western rock-n’-roll band, working to scorch their name into the soil outside of their hometown – Nashville, Tennessee.

Since the controversial Miley Cyrus burst back with that performance and Johnny Cash’s marvellous life ended in the historical city, Nashville itself has secured its moniker as the household name of musical luminaries. So, could duo The Bloody Nerve be next in line to be propelled into stardom?

The band consists of Stacey Blood and Laurie Ann Layne; a pairing so diverse in voice, the collaboration is something only imaginable in dreams. On opposing ends of the spectrum, the gruff vocals of Blood echo hard and pure rock n’ roll, whereas Layne’s more sophisticated and cool edge relates back to her R&B roots.

For many small bands in America, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to break onto the scene (The Black Keys are a perfect example). However, for The Bloody Nerve there’s no problem reaping in the offers to spread their wings. More and more venues are beckoning the band closer, welcoming the new sound through their doors, in Nashville and even beyond! And it’s all thanks to the appropriately named ‘Red’.

The band formed in 2011, and in the past two years both Blood and Layne have dabbled in genres and battled with themes to create an intriguing mix of emotions on ‘3P EP’ Red. The EP is the first collection of singles from the band – consisting of three songs, each so unique that they all induce separate levels of pulsing goose bumps.

Red was released in October, with its first track ‘Place To Hide’ really pushing the boundaries on modern day western rock. As Blood’s howling voice takes lead vocal, perfectly harmonising with his raucous guitar playing, there’s something secluded and special about ‘Place To Hide’. With Terry Bayless manning the keyboard, the hefty riff ploughs its way through the heart and seems to really mark the start of something special.

However, this trend isn’t continued as tracks 2 and 3 both open up onto completely different horizons, with each song bringing a new pallet of tricks to the playing field. ‘Find Ya Love’ and ‘Local Honey’ are both sung by the hypnotically beautiful Layne, with a voice deeply rooted in country rock. ‘Local Honey’ has a more dramatic-rising-action feeling, thanks to the simple accompaniment of the tambourine, compared to the slow and soulful track ‘Find Ya Love’.

The diversity between all three tracks really pays off for the band as they’ve created a fresh new listening experience, playing on a blues influence that’s sure to rocket them to the top of their game.

The eagerly anticipated follow up to ‘Red’ is released in December: ‘Blue’. Could the opposing name be a reflection of how two contrasting influences can join in harmony and create something sacred? No details have been released about Blue for now, but one thing’s for sure – if you haven’t batted an eyelid at this band yet, then you’re not going to be able to ignore them much longer.

Ella Scott