BLANKET- ‘How to Let Go’
Blanket have named their band all wrong. The sound of this, the Blackpool quartet’s debut, is not something small and cosy, it’s enormous and epic. It is slow-swelling waves of lush, cinematic post-rock, sweeping instrumental drama, and widescreen ambience. The best bits are excellent- ‘Our Tired Hearts’ successfully incorporates alt-rock riffing and choral vocal blips, ‘Words Collide’ adds acapella, digitally-altered vocals to striking effect, and ‘Turn Ourselves to Stone’ sidesteps the slow-build quiet-loud dynamic entirely and is instead made with affecting urgency. But other moments can be a slog. The record contains a handful of cues for when to feel emotional- a loaded lull here, a big crescendo there- but too many of these moments arrive without stirring any actual emotion. They are well-arranged but too clean, almost antiseptic. ‘How to Let Go’ is overblown at times then, and, running for almost an hour, it’s overlong too, but when Blanket are at their best, they sound massive and memorable and, just maybe, destined for greatness.
