Album Review: The Blueprint

Opening with a theatrical instrumental with piano and scorching choral like keys, you are stirred and aroused, the tension builds and you’re curious, where you are headed? but there is no doubt your listening to something different, something that is very powerful and good.

The second track Closet is like a booming dominatrix, with soaring sustained guitar and searing vocal squeals from lead vocalist/guitarist Joshua Braden that rip at your senses with its forceful aggression. At times it’s a potent and powerful psychedelic ride that doesn’t relent, but there are occasional excursions from the unyielding hallucinogenic rhythms, like in the great track Jist which initially has a sturdy rock rhythm that breaks into a mystic void that sets you free until you’re drawn back to the power sphere at the end.

Control is a brooding ballad that really gets into you, this track shows that these three guys from Christchurch are not afraid to take you on a journey with softer passages and non-traditional rhythms and song structures. The music is very atmospheric, spacey and distant, the moody sound is very real, recorded with an intentional musty room sound, it’s not a synthetic overproduced and unreal rock sound, the vibe is gritty and alive with feeling. Joshua’s guitar work and vocals are very stirring, while the drums by Chris Self and Bass by Kieran Colina are sublime throughout, the sound rolls into one organic mash of power and character that is a very impressive debut to say the least.

Overall the album is a commanding experience and you could only imagine the intensity of experiencing it performed live. Well worth a listen.