Well now. It’s not often I get a song that’s over six minutes long, and as avant-garde as anything I have reviewed. That’s what I have been presented with, with Please Give Blood‘s new single, Ambition. We have a track that can qualify as punk, industrial, goth, electronica. The list is lengthy. Like the song! Ha.

The two band members are Dee Blood and Kay Blood. I’m going to guess these aren’t the names their mothers gave them, but all good. Like this song. They’ve written about the latter day drive for popularity, power, the fifteen minutes of fame. From the details section of their rather cool You Tubes lyric video: People want to validate their existence through a sense of empowerment, enthroned in virtual worlds and capitalistic work systems. Orwell’s “picture of the future…a boot stamping on a human face— forever” meets Warhol’s desire for “15 minutes of fame” in ever-accelerating perpetuity. Go harder, faster, be more ruthless – crush those who stand in your way, assert your domination – until that same instinct and drive, without prejudice, eventually replaces and removes you in the same process. This ego-driven flow of power rises like a wave, and drains like a tide. This is what they call Ambition.

We begin with some driven, goth/industrial guitar and drums. The vocals drop in and I am instantly taken from that to a post-punk wilderness of broken dreams, ruined streets, anger. A vocal performance that is straight out of New York’s mid 1970s punk scene. Not trying to be auto-tuned. Not trying to be dulcet and sweet. Being authentic and earnest. Being real. Saying an almighty f*** you to conventionality. I’m not talking Johnny Rotten‘s de-tuned screams though. I said New York not New Cross.

The track changes to a synth-led piece, still anchored to that Anarchic punkiness by the vocal performance, snarling and questioning your perceptions of depth, acceptability, reality and morality. A track I suspect that has been considered at length, ruminated upon and delivered uncompromisingly, this is brimful of quality musicianship. It’s definitely not commercial or poppy in any way, shape or form – but there is an avid, hungry audience for this music.

If you are an aggressive introvert. If you are someone who has to find a way to receive expressiveness from an external source that can rationalise your own inner musings. If you cannot fit in with the shallowness of Ambition in 2024, and need to throw off mental and emotional shackles in a room full of kindred souls writhing to the furious mesh of sound Please Give Blood is on the stage delivering. This is for you. This is for the live scene. In the dark, beneath the harsh glare of the saccharine lights that draw the weak.

I can’t really say anymore on this. Please do go check out the You Tube lyric video. It’s excellent, and stands up as a full promo vid for me. Very compelling band, and interesting in droves. Dark and cynical. Anarchic and sneering. It’s always good to Please Give Blood.