The Big Apple hasn’t had anything to shout about for a while; instead it has been following the long tailcoats of London’s constantly evolving scene for the last few years.
But a new duo called Blondes has emerged through the cracks of the city’s steamy subways and overcrowded streets looking to change all that. New to most but surely not for long, the two make hedonistic, gothic disco if one can call it that.
In the space of twelve months, Blondes have not only scored a deal with Merok (the label behind Crystal Castles & Esser initial success) but have also caught the deep intense gaze of arty-disco lovers everywhere. Both Zach Steinman and Sam Haar have crisscrossed across the world, meeting in Ohio at Oberlin College where Tortoise and Beach House first met, then temporarily living in Berlin and then finally setting up shop in New York.
The music Blondes make seems quite improvisational and spontaneous, which is why it sounds quite refreshing. Their lead single Spanish Fly (an intense medieval poison) roams around the cosmic underground similar to London’s Hounds of Hate and New York’s Gavin Russom – subtle keys, long drawn out melodies of epic proportion, ending on a more comfortable ambient note. Songs like ‘Moondance’ meander for over 10 minutes or so, but I enjoy the zone out quality to it, quite like I embraced the brilliance of White Rainbow.
Pitchfork described them as “Giorgio Moroder synth workouts and Boards of Canada wispiness”. I’d rather call it Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark raiding Todd Terje’s vinyl collection.
There really isn’t that much Blondes music out there, but they seem to have already caught the attention of the bewildering chameleon superstar Tiesto. Yes, they are opening for him on one of his U.S. dates. Amongst that, they also have done a great remix for John Talabot.
Blondes debut EP Touched will be out on Big Pink’s Milo Cordell run label on the 28th of June. You can download Spanish Fly right here.
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