Queer Garage Rock From London, UK

That's Du Blonde's strap line on Bandcamp and of course doesn't begin to describe the depth and breadth of their music.

Case in point, the beautiful ballad Out Of A Million, a delicate song with just piano and voice. And what a voice. I was fan of Du Blonde when they released music as Beth Jeans Houghton over a decade ago, but the range and nuance in their tones and notes, it's a whole other level.

Blame is released today (8th) and it's definitely in the garage rock camp, superficially a scuzzy pop rock number that comfortably comes in at under three minutes, with an expertly restrained vocal and (self) harmonies.  But this is Du Blonde, so take the time to listen to the lyrics and there's nothing superficial about this song.

Blame "tells the story of a long-time-coming explosion of rage and defiance in the face of gaslighting within an interpersonal relationship". It can be a difficult but ultimately rewarding listen. 

 

The promo draws musical comparisons with Ziggy-era Bowie, ABBA and The Mamas & The Papas, though the song that I immediately thought of when listening to this was Thank God It's Not Christmas by Sparks. Regardless, this is a great single and I'm looking forward to hearing the forthcoming new album.

 

 

But that's not all. Du Blonde has also released a mixtape called Baby Forever. I haven't bought it yet but I think it's a 6-track EP, or at least will be, with today's opener Out Of A Million one of two tracks available on Bandcamp.

 

The second is called Message Deleted and is accompanied by this fantastic, if at times unsettling, video.

Continuing their musical exploration of depression, with Message Deleted Du Blonde "wanted to document that feeling not just lyrically, but within the landscape of the instrumentation and production, marrying melancholic swells and drones with unsettling glitches and muted, driving overdriven guitar”. 

 

This is powerful stuff, vivid yet never self-pitying. Here's a sample lyric:

 

Baby what is it like
To see the moon in the sky
And think that heaven is
A place that you go when you die
All I see before me
Is just a big galaxy
Needs dusting off as bad as
I need my sobriety

 

Last year saw the release of a Beth Jeans Houghton collaboration with Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands that was recorded in 2013 when the pair - who up to that point were pretty much strangers - went on a road trip around the USA for a month, taking in 15 states and a lifetime of experiences.

 

Pelican Canyon was recorded in Los Angeles and evokes the classic country collaborations of the 60s and 70s or, to use a more contemporary reference point, the songs that Isobel Campbell wrote and recorded with Mark Lanegan. 

 

  

To date, I've only bought a few songs here and there by Du Blonde/Beth but the more I hear the more I need to take a deep dive into their catalogue.