by Cameron Cairns
Nottingham four-piece Blondes serve up an offering of Summer in these cold Winter months with the release of their new single ‘Out the Neighbourhood’, their title track for their most recent EP which was released on November 12th. It comes offering a feelgood breezy bop in the tried and tested classic indie mold. The group formed at university with members hailing from all over England, with the band truly gaining traction after witnessing a Vaccines set at Glastonbury in 2019, where they were inspired to chase their dreams. Following their track ‘Coming of Age’ exploding on the social media site Tik-Tok, the track racked up an astonishing 11 million views and the boys were subsequently signed to US based imprint C3 Records based in Austin, Texas.
On ‘Out of the Neighbourhood’, warm yet jaggy chords give way to solid upbeat drums which collide with soulful Johnny Greenwood-esque guitar bending as the pre-chorus melts away and the pace relents, where we are asked to “take off your t-shirt… and get out of the neighborhood”. One can almost smell the warm, musty air of summer and all the youthful abandon that come with it, and it is a track that you can look forward to blasting as the temperatures rise once more next year.
After the oomph of the rocketing pre-chorus, the chorus itself seems to retreat into the shadows and slow down instead of pushing forwards. Perhaps incorporating the hooky riff which appears sporadically throughout the song here may have yielded slightly stronger results, and one can’t help but feel the vocals in the pre-chorus (So as you shot out the door…) require a touch more power.
However, the track itself is solid, while perhaps it not being the most innovative guitar-led track on the airwaves there is a feeling of true, genuine passion here. In a world of carbon-copy music and writers for hire, it is so greatly refreshing to hear something so authentic and untouched by the industry, not chasing trends or compromising but doing purely as the group pleases. They encourage us to live our very best lives in age where most art is becoming increasingly self-aware and sombre, serving as a refreshing breath of fresh air. Being young up-and-comers I for one look forward to seeing just how far these young men can go.
The band will be playing live on November 17th in Nottingham alongside band Sports Team and headlining their very own gig in London on the 30th. Additionally, they will be making an appearance at Sonic Wave Festival in Birmingham on Saturday the 11th of December. So, if you wanna dance away your winter blues, tickets are available to buy.
