Blindness

Confessions (EP)

Rating: 4/5

 

I have to admit, I wasn't totally sold on this EP at first. Of course I mean only until I'd heard the break at about three minutes in of track two, 'Broken'. After that I was sold.

 

So first let's dispense with the soundbite PR bit (and admittedly probably the reason this ended up on my doorstep); the driving force behind the band is Debbie Smith, who was the live guitarist for Curve. Naturally then, as you'd expect there's some similarity with Dean Garcia's post-Curve project, SPC ECO, although Blindness' sound is notably darker, more in tune with Curve's pseudo-goth asthetic than the joyous dream pop of SPC's recent Big Fat World EP.

 

Besides that (and not a reference to Curve in sight), what do Blindness sound like? Well, on track one it's driving dark shoegaze melded with the atmospherics of dark ambient- think Portishead's more unsettling moments- and the pop electronica sensibilities of recent Metric. In fact, however inappropriate that last reference point may appear, it's one that as a listener I kept referring to. 'Confessions' has a drum track that even quite reminds of 'Help, I'm Alive', though one doubts that Debbie Smith owns many Metric records.

 

Though the guitar noisily clawing its way to the fore on 'Broken' is my favourite individual moment, the closer 'No One Counts', with echoes of the increasing band dynamic of Massive Attack circa 100^th Window (and specifically the guitar figures of 'What Your Soul Sings') is the finest individual track. At only three tracks it's a little light on running length, but on the basis of this their next release will still have to be exceptional for Blindness to truly stand out, good though it is.