REVIEW BY TAMSIN JONES
The EP Leads You Down Paths Of Youth and the Endless Opportunities
Four piece indie rock band Blondes release EP ‘Out with the Neighbourhood’ featuring viral tik tok trending single ‘Coming of Age’. Their debut EP is the product of year long project with US label C3 records.
Band members Tom Herbert, Daniel Stroud, Will Potter, Alex Davison from Nottingham admit being spurred on after listening to The Vaccines deliver an impassioned speech to the audience at Glastonbury 2019 which spoke of forming a band, being fearless and chasing your dreams, the band took these words of positivity intently and have continued to be catapulted forward.
The bands popularity is ever-growing on social media and their Spotify page has has gained over 335,000 monthly followers. Appearances at the festival Republic stage at Reading/Leeds and touring with Inhaler has also added to the ever growing number of fans, securing themselves as becoming one of the most exciting bands to come out of 2021.
The Ep showcases lead singers Will’s hazy tones and lively upbeat guitars. ‘Minimum wage’ introduces us to soft lyrics that speak of mundane life living on a minimum wage and dreaming of spending time elsewhere.
Recorded at Coastal Sound recording studio with Phil Booth, Tom Roach and Tim Speed, Produced and mixed by Rich Turvey (Courteeners,Blossoms, Vistas, Oscar Lang.)
The EP leads you down paths of youth and the endless opportunities of adventure we all faced when we were younger especially in the track ‘Coming Of Age’. Memories of blurry nights and conversations come across in the track ‘Street Fight.
‘Low on the Comedown’ stands out as a nostalgic tale of teenage years in a poster covered bedroom, processing what the weekends brought about with the only capable social interaction was with your closest friend. Whilst ‘Lavender’ comes in with a slower tempo, nostalgic guitars that take you right back to 1997 but with Wills smooth and dreamy lyrics.
Speaking of the EP the band show a level of pride in the debut EP and explain its been a wild journey
We’ve been working on this EP for almost a year now with C3 Records. It’s been great fun and has helped us grow as songwriters and musicians. Our team have supported us every step of the way and we’re very excited to finally be able to share these songs with everyone. We wanted to continue to revel in that ecstasy of freedom and possibility that Coming of Age encapsulated so well. Out the Neighbourhood is our expression of what it means to be young; a small reminder of the possibilities that exist if you have the confidence to take a step into the unknown and a realisation of the potential that we all have.
With the release of the EP, we want to continue to build on the start we have made this year, and we’re looking ahead to more new music in 2022 and more shows. We’ve already started writing and recording new material, and we’re very excited for what the future holds. We hope everyone loves Out the Neighbourhood and thanks to everyone that helped us make it.”
In celebration of the release of the EP Blondes have revealed the video for the single and title track off the EP ‘Out of the neighbourhood’ Directed by James Slater (Sam Fender, Blossoms, Inhaler, The Lathums)
The band are also set to appear on an episode of Apple Music ALT CTRL Radio with Hanuman Welch on Tuesday 16TH November.
7.5/10
TRACK LISTING
1/ MINIMUM WAGE
2/ OUT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
3/ COMING OF AGE
4/ STREET FIGHT
5/ LOW ON THE COMEDOWN
6/ LAVENDER
TOUR DATES
November the 14th – Headline show at The Grace in London
11th December – Sonic Wave Festival in Birmingham
FOLLOW BLONDES
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
