FOLIO
by Jack Diablo
When I reviewed their first LP, Season Dreaming, I prophesied that Blind Man’s Colour showed definite potential and expressed hope that they might blaze some new sonic trails in the future. Well, the future is now.
Just six months after Season Dreaming, the St. Petersburg duo are releasing the Wooden Blankets EP on vinyl and digital formats. To be fair, there isn’t anything here that hasn’t been done before, but as some would argue, it’s all been done anyway. What you will find is some extremely well-made lo-fi, rich in texture and mood. It is a much more organic, honest sounding record than the full length with no laptop production to be found. All of it was recorded with starter keyboards and effects pedals recorded entirely on four-track cassette. You can really hear the difference too and the album is all the better for it. It sounds much closer to the stripped-down brilliance of an experimental band’s homemade cassette, the kind that are never heard by more than a lucky few. But this will no doubt be heard, and talked about. After listening to this album, and thoroughly enjoying it, I can say with assurance that these guys are cut from the same stock as Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox. They clearly have an ear for sound and a knack for creating soundscapes that evoke images and feelings that most groups are simply incapable of producing.
The EP starts off with the washy synth of Canoe Paddles. Even before the crickets and sloshy recording of paddled water, you get that feeling of just being outside as a kid. That youthful mood permeates the remainder of the album as well. In ‘Never Hope For Treasure,’ crackling thunder and the fall of rain set the mood for how you used to feel cooped up in the house on a rainy day when you’d rather be outside. But the clouds do part eventually and on ‘We’re Treehouse Kids!’ it’s back outside to bathe in the sunlight and roll in the grass. ‘Fantasy Coves’ and ‘The Golden Lights’ are both shimmery daydream songs that allow the imagination to run wild followed by album closer ‘Sleeping Bag.’
I sincerely hope to hear more music like this from BMC but I fear that the Season Dreaming stuff will be more well-received by the masses. As long as they continue to put out EPs, mixtapes or 7 inches like Wooden Blankets, I think I’ll be content.
Follow FOLIO!