Manchester’s indie-rock rebels The Blinders have released their brand new single ‘City That We Call Love’, the first taste of new music since the release of last year’s critically acclaimed album Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath.
An endlessly shape-shifting entity journeying through an expansive landscape full of abrasive guitars, pulsating basslines, bright synthesiser flourishes and dynamic brazen vocals, ‘City That We Call Love’ sees The Blinders return on top form. Their first new music release as a quintet, it sees them explore their broadened range of instrumentation with effortless proficiency as they boldly turn the page into a new chapter.
Speaking on the new single, vocalist and guitarist Thomas Haywood stated, “Love is an enormous feeling, and something I now know I’d never felt up until this point. The music tries to match the weight of that whilst holding its hand with the lyrics. I think both love and a city share the same intricacies and feelings of vastness when you’re in the centre of them, so I guess that’s why I chose to go with that. The band’s got a little more meat on its bones too. There are five of us now instead of three. It's probably the best decision we've ever made.”
The Blinders recently finished a string of headline shows across the UK, using the shows as an opportunity to debut the new line up. Haywood and bass guitarist Charlie McGough are now joined by second guitarist Eoghan Clifford, drummer Thomas Castrey and Johnny James on keys, the new additions adding a deeper, more uncompromising layer to their sound.
Involving additional musicians in the line-up is something the band explored on The Lounge Lizard Sessions, a limited edition live album that the band released earlier this year; a collection of rearranged compositions more suited to intimate performances, evolved from a series of stripped-back shows. After falling in love with their new-found approach, they found themselves wanting to dive into their music and explore its sonic depth via additional instrumentation and experimentation, and thus snowballed into making that depth a permanent addition.
The Lounge Lizard Sessions followed their second album, Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath, released to widespread acclaim in July 2020.
The Blinders have just been announced as the Special Guests on The Cribs upcoming UK tour. Dates are as follows:
MARCH 2022
Tues 1st: Birmingham O2 Institute
Weds 2nd: Norwich Waterfront
Fri 4th: Sheffield Academy
Sun 6th: Manchester Academy
Tues 8th: Newcastle Boiler Shop
Weds 9th: Glasgow SWG3
Fri 11th: London Roundhouse
Sat 12th: Brighton Chalk
Sun 13th: Bristol Marble Factory
Tickets are available now here
ACCLAIM FOR THE BLINDERS:
“The band incorporate influences from the likes of IDLES and solo-era John Lennon… a particularly penetrating, bruising listen”
NME
“brooding post-punk… a fusion of IDLES and Nick Cave”
Consequence Of Sound
“one of this country’s greatest rising bands… the sound of our times”
Classic Rock
“a force to be reckoned with”
Clash
