Blank Realm

Blank Realm follow nicely on their breakout from 2012 building on Go Easy's shift toward pop structures, albeit sinewy and winding pop structures that reconcile their experimental beginnings, positioning it as their finest statement yet. Grassed In is full of jangles and strums for sure but also just as packed with the kind of slow building narcotic vortexes that anchor all those lighthearted moments to the deck. Centerpiece, "Bulldozer Love" swallows the album whole and then passes it through a pop wormhole casting the second half of the album into darker seated jangles that drive with an inky intensity that's a counterpoint to Go Easy's luminosity. Then, just as soon as the heartbeat quickens, the band releases its grip to let the album sigh on its way out the door. There are many working the clay of jangle-pop these days, particularly from Blank Realm's neck of the woods, but the band seems to take a new lease on shading it into fully dimensional pop art that catches on the brain as much as the ear.

Listen:


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