The Bateleurs step back into the spotlight with A Light in the Darkness, thatย raises the stakes, widens the lens, and deepens the swampy soul of their blues-rock identity, following their 2021 debut. After a major lineup shift, with guitarist Ricardo Galrรฃo joining the fold, the band sound reborn. With his presence, he brings a new dimension with more bite in the riffs, more cinematic color in the bends, more tension and release in each songโs architecture. Recorded across three studios early in 2025 and captured without digital correction or studio gloss, the album leans fully into raw, high-voltage human performance, as a rare, defiant choice in an era of pristine polish.
Produced by the band and mixed by bassist Ricardo Dikk, A Light in the Darkness thrives on imperfection-as-power. You hear fingers on strings, breath between lines, drums thundering like theyโre about to crack the walls. And with guest musicians bringing bursts of Hammond warmth, slide-guitar smoke, and even Irish whistle on a bonus track, the album comes like an evolving, expanding, living organism, feeding off the bandโs hunger.
That fire hits the ground running in โA Price For My Soul.โ From the thick, dirty, and slithering opening grind of slide guitar, the track drops you into its world of crossroads mythology. The drums stomp restlessly while Sandrine Orsiniโs voice rises like a storm cloud. Smoky and commanding, her vibrato is a trembling blade. Her vocals push toward a fevered pitch as she wrestles with sin, redemption, and the old ghosts of the blues. The blazing guitar breaks only heighten the tension, flickering like lightning between thunderous drum hits.
By โFor All To See,โ the band shifts into a road-burning groove. The riff revs like an engine and the drums lock into a muscular, highway-ready pulse. Orsiniโs thick, intoxicating voice overflows with power, as it lifts the track into something gritty and triumphant. The Hammond organ glows beneath it all, with warmth and vintage swagger, while Tiago Maiaโs slide guitar curls through the mix with a dusty, sun-streaked blues charm. The track has motion, breath, grit, and a feeling of wind in your face and fire in your chest.
As the release concert at Lisbonโs Coliseu Club approaches, A Light in the Darkness proves that The Bateleurs are thriving their evolution, forging an ancient, urgent, and beautifully alive blues-rock ritual.
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Review by: Naomi Joan