Peroxide Blonde are worthy of your undivided attention. Last winter found me understandably obsessed with the band’s note-perfect March EP, Never Made Me Cry, a sleeper if there ever was one. Long flaunting a surfeit of untamed musical influence and ideas, the band has returned with their best work to date.
Now working with Midwest label Jetsam-Flotsam, based just outside of Chicago, the band has found a home worthy of their ever-evolving sonic tapestry. Quite literally bridging NYC and the Garden State, let’s hope this is the final time they need to introduce themselves before becoming a going proposition.
No Echo is stoked to have an exclusive premiere of their label debut in the form of single “No Reason to Pretend.”
Much like last year’s superlative 3-song set, their latest pulls from a litany of places and reassembles it in a singular way. Again calling to mind …Trail of Dead, they come equipped with an incredible sense of rhythmic dynamism that’s perhaps more akin to modern masters like Narrow Head, Woolworm, and Modern Color. It must be said, though, that Peroxide Blonde was ahead of the neo-grunge mania by quite a bit.
Back to the song, y’all. The bass is impossibly busy, spiderwebbing (that’s a word now, fuck it) runs around shimmering guitars. What’s most impressive, however, is the drumming. Boasting what sounds like tastefully controlled fills that also feel loose and improv, the snare runs never stop and fill every open space while somehow avoiding the dreaded “overplay” that plagues lesser bands.
The vocals again arrive wrapped in a hazy, dreamlike, tone that floats majestically above it all. The subtly sung melodies keep the track grounded and propulsive. Lyrically, it felt like a callback to the dejected but self assured Galaxie 500. Anything that can make me think of “Tugboat” is already gonna be duking it out for my song of the year in a few short months.
Managing to be as cohesive as they are expansive and as intimate as they are disaffected, Peroxide Blonde are many things. Properly rated is sure as shit not one of them. Help bump up their monthly listens that would be through the roof in a just universe. This band rules.
"No Reason to Pretend" is available for purchase on the Jetsam-Flotsam Bandcamp.
Peroxide Blonde on social media: Facebook | Instagram
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