Each Measure Feature: Blueprint Tokyo
FEATURE
Indie rock, it’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. Dark New Days is the perfect six-track reminder of that feel-good simplicity of staying in tune and playing from the heart. This five-piece band from Oklahoma wails a big sound with powerful vocals and noisy rock arrangements, all balanced with ethereal, moody atmospheres.
The first song, Orange Tiger, sets up the listening experience as a gentle introduction, with husky vocals riding on the usual four-piece rock band. The distorted vocals of the second track, Here’s Your Story, make listeners jump into the action of a steady rhythm and a steady chugging distorted guitar. The effect is that of yelling out the sunroof on a highway: fast and raw and edgy from the get-go. Where do you go from there? Each following track builds a new piece of Blueprint Tokyo’s sonic universe, claiming to balance the analog and digital sounds. It’s not until later in the album where that balance became more apparent. The chugging rock melodies of the beginning few tracks start to open up, with longer synth moments bringing that dreamy, mesmerizing quality to the lyrical narrative. The final track, Nite Valerie, truly expands that wondrous quality. A personal favorite from the EP, there’s an almost 80s twinge that finds full flight, bringing the small-town musings to an epic dimension.
Above all else, the confident vocals are one of the biggest draws to Blueprint Tokyo’s sound for me. There’s a nostalgic allure to the perfectly pitched no-nonsense lead vocals wailing, "What do you want from me? What do you need from me? What do you want from me?” The lyricism of the album blows full steam ahead, motivated by those big emotions of desire, betrayal, beauty, and frustration. In a day of hate tracks, obscure references, riddle wrapped ballads, and post-experimental poetics,there is no second guessing or over analyzing what is being sung in New Dark Days…what a relief. This is a band that doesn’t linger in moody liminal angst but seems to know exactly what it enjoys: the anthem-like sounds that bring us back to the hyped-up garage rehearsal, battle of the bands, or summer block party stage.
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