On Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath, The Blinder’s fine-tune their balance act.
Fantasies… is more dynamic than the band’s 2018 debut; Columbia consisted mostly of brash songwriting, but Fantasies… explores the band’s range. Lead single ‘Circle Song’ sees Beatles-style harmonies, strings sections and pianos clash with heavier, guitar-led songs such as ‘Forty Days, Forty Nights’. All-round it’s a more complex and considered approach, and the band improve tenfold by embracing a variety of sounds.
The Blinders have branched out lyrically, too. Rather than constantly wagging a middle finger at politicians, the band tackle their personal problems, covering mental health (‘Interlude’), disappointment (‘Circle Song’) and despair (‘In This Decade’). Granted, it gets a bit pretentious at times – there’s a reference to swimming in Mary Magdalene’s womb on ‘In This Decade’ – but it’s a refreshing alternative to the band relentlessly tackling society’s ills.
Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath represents The Blinders’ willingness to free up their writing style. The result is a more well- rounded, multi-sided, and altogether more interesting one.
Haiku Review:
Boris can do one,
The Blinders come back swinging,
Now it’s personal.
*Review first published in The Rodeo print magazine available HERE.
Listen to The Blinders on Spotify and Apple Music. Check out our magazine featuring Dream Wife, Sorry, girl in red and more HERE.
