BLANKY
(LAWRENCE, KS)
photo by Quinn Hernandez
Blanky embodies the languor left of a perfect day gone past. The always evolving musical project has thus far successfully mirrored the tumultuous transition of a dwindling agnostic adolescence to a freeing acceptance of life’s unapologetic inhumanity. The result is a dark happiness; simultaneously baffling and enticing. Incubated in a Black Mountain basement and left in the fields ’til full maturity. Blanky has settled in Lawrence, KS by way of Asheville, North Carolina. Southern origins and midwestern sentimentality are bound together in the timeless mindscape provoked by the broad assortment of compositions and styles performed and produced by the band. The ongoing experimentations of Blanky are a testament to their commitment to combining the culture of sharing and adaptation of 60’s folk and the do-it-yourself ethos of contemporary underground music. Blanky’s poignantly devitalized interpretations of rock’n’roll sound both new and familiar. The sense of desolation induced by their work is all so appropriate for an era marked by post-fact disenfranchisement. The more you listen to Blanky’s blend of goth, crooning, dream pop, and rock’n’roll the harder it becomes to place their music into any particular genre.
Blanky had previously self-released an album called Baby Blue on cassette in the spring of 2018 before officially signing to Manor Records in the spring of 2020. On October 9th, 2020 the band released its first release under the label with new record No Summertime. Writer Lilli Marvin of Honey Punch Mag (Tulsa) said the new record is, “Best enjoyed over a cheap drink in a Lynchian, dimly lit cabaret theatre, this album speaks to fans of King Krule’s harsh eccentricity, David Bowie’s anthemic melancholy, and the Jacuzzi Boys’ noisy twang—all while bringing to the soundwaves a fresh take on philosophical dread and making homegrown music with your friends.”
Released this past December, the band’s latest record, Blood Harmony, was recorded on a half-inch reel-to-reel tape machine in various locations around Lawrence, Kansas. The intent was to embrace a lo-fi recording production and to emulate some of the style and intimacy captured on select enduring analog classics such as Charlie Megira's The Abtomatic Meisterzinger Mambo Chic, The Breeders' Pod, and Roland S. Howard's Teenage Snuff Film. The process of recording live to tape allows for the inimitable chemistry of players, the uncontrollable variables of a busy household, and the sound of rooms, squeaking chairs and peripheral noise to be captured in a way that the contemporary digital norm just doesn't. Blanky’s always loved those small details encapsulated forever in their favorite albums and feel some of that charm has been captured on Blood Harmony. The record is a snapshot in time of a band that regularly shifts its form and embraces the coming and going of members and collaborators. The album’s line up consists of songwriter and guitarist Anthony Cunard, drummer Max Smith, bass player Maxfiled Yoder, and multi-instrumentalist Edward Madill. They're joined by a handful of friends and contributors including Adam Brisbin (Buck Meek, Sam Evian, Dig Nitty) on pedal steel, Santo Rizzolo (Jackson Pines) on auxiliary drums and percussion, and Luke Annis on various brass instruments. The record was mixed by Julian Fader in NYC and mastered by Amar Lal.
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PRESS
Best enjoyed over a cheap drink in a Lynchian, dimly lit cabaret theatre, this album speaks to fans of King Krule’s harsh eccentricity, David Bowie’s anthemic melancholy, and the Jacuzzi Boys’ noisy twang—all while bringing to the soundwaves a fresh take on philosophical dread and making homegrown music with your friends. - Honey Punch Magazine
[Blanky] develop(s) a sound on “No Summertime” that’s pacific in pace and easy on the ears (and the heart). - I Heart Local Music
“country shoegaze perfection.” - The Pitch