Blind Man's Colour
(Kanine)
In the last two minutes of this all-too-brief EP, the lyrical apparition that functions as a chorus for "Sleeping Bag" - "it doesn't even matter/do you really think that you'll end up someplace better" - repeats itself just twice, right as the muffled guitars, resampled beatbox percussion, and aquatically reconfigured sound effects begin to dissolve into the ether. It's an intentionally fleeting moment, as if the two kids in Blind Man's Colour were utterly unsure that the sonic concoction they'd stumbled upon was actually worth hanging onto.
Although recorded around the same time as their well-received debut album (last year's Seasons Dreaming), the six songs on Wooden Blankets don't dig into the same shimmering confidence and glo-fi optimism of that full-length. Instead, this EP sounds much more like the kind of music that some musically gifted and socially awkward high school kids might make. Of course, the two members of BMC were in high school when they made this music, so that's probably understandable. Yet, while Seasons was a remarkably mature-sounding set, the jittery insecurity of this EP makes for a much more engaging and provocative listen.
A cut like "We're Treehouse Kids" - with a melodic undercarriage of menacingly psychedelic calliope and sing-songy, super-distorto Animal Collective homage - is blatantly aiming for a certain trippy sound, but never quite manages to nail it; however, what BMC does hit is altogether more interesting than their original target, resulting in a dizzying eight minute dirge that's both giddy and suffocating. However, it's on both ends of the EP - the aforementioned closing track, "Sleeping Bag," and "Canoe Paddles," which opens the disc with an aggressive and plaintive wail of vibed-out, sonic candy - that Blind Man's Colour points to possible directions for their next material. Whether it's the latter's fractured and abrasive art-pop or the former's ethereal insecurities is yet to be known, but the duo is more than capable of easily delivering either.
Standout Tracks: "Sleeping Bag," "Canoe Paddles" JASON FERGUSON
