EP REVIEW: Blue Eyes – blanket

UK post-rockers BLANKET are one of the coveted few to partner with Church Road Records and have released their new EP Blue Eyes featuring covers of POST MALONE and RADIOHEAD tracks. For the most part Blue Eyes is headed for calmer waters than what BLANKET have ventured into before, marking a turning point for the Blackpool quartet as they welcome their new drummer Lucas Fletcher into the fray. 

Title track Blue Eyes is only one of two original tracks on the new EP, but is still enough to make you realise that BLANKET are of the higher quality. Blue Eyes is dynamic and multi-layered enough to keep you engaged in the short stint of original content, and it truly will sell you on the band. With metalcore mannerisms and a delicate vocal melody to go along with it the track is truly hypnotising. 

Really the EP is like a covers sandwich, three covers in the middle as a filling and two original tracks on either end. Apart from cringing in hearing the word “shawty” in an English accent, their go at POST MALONE’s I Fall Apart is a soft acoustic twist on the original that definitely does the hit justice. Climbing Up The Walls offers a duality between sunken vocals and effortful backing vocals, and has the grandeur atmosphere that RADIOHEAD deliver but in a much tidier manner; less fuzziness and feedback. 

It would’ve been a real big swing if the record was to be made up of only original tracks to showcase what potential new drummer Lucas Fletcher has and what he’s going to bring to the table. Even though that isn’t the case, it’s interesting to see a more alternative take on massive pop tracks that have quite the popularity to them, it makes the departure from older material even better in that sense and ushers in the new phase of BLANKET. 

The record being a majority of covers is a risk as well, it could turn out that nobody is that fussed about them. After all, why not just listen to the original? Well luckily the quartet have been creative and wise enough to not keep everything the same and to infuse the covers with some well deserved BLANKET. 

Rating: 7/10

Blue Eyes is out now via Church Road Records.

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