Family Average: 4/7

Think back to the last time something made you blush. Did it make you blush again just now? If so, you have an impeccably vivid memory/imagination. Just a little bit of fun. Now on to today’s review.

Blushing is a dreamy band hailing from the far off land they call Austin, Texas. On these two songs off their upcoming LP, “The Truth” and “Sunshine”, they delivered the fam some real ethereal sounds.

Ethereal is a great word yeah? Almost as great as YOU! Did that just make you blush? Don’t lie… Ah whatever go read the review. But also check out the song on their Bandcamp so you know what we’re talking about:

Blushing shows promise. I like the vocals and some of the guitar work in “The Truth”; it has a definite pop quality mixed with some original arrangements. My one complaint was that it was a bit disorganized and droned on a bit longer than it had to, for my liking.

Then we get to “Sunshine” and it’s very original. At times it felt like Brian Wilson in the studio with Dolores O'Riordan, the singer from The Cranberries. It had a nice flow to it, but it was a bit too heavy for me at times. But It had an interesting quality so I had to keep listening. 

4/7 - not familiar with this genre but I liked it

Not to judge a book by it’s cover, but I like this album art. Sometimes, those visuals just sweeten the deal. So disclaimer: my opinions have been swayed by pretty colors. That being said, I’m always up for some dream-pop, and this band definitely delivers on that sonic kind of texture and atmosphere. Dreamy and hazy and oh so pretty, it builds into a shoegaze-y explosion with smashing drums and wailing, chime-like guitar. And while they’ve got that warm, fuzzy, and heady sound down pat, I didn’t find it to be all that immersive -- an important part of the whole shoegaze / dream pop world. I want to take a deeeeeeep dive into their world when I listen, but I feel like they only scratched the surface on their sound.

5/7

This music swells like hurricane season baby! What we have here is  a lovely little shoegaze album by Blushing. About a minute into the first song it was like I was talking to an old friend. Strong flashbacks to bands like LSD And The Search For God, and All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors. The guitar was whirling all around and things are going good for me. Have to say, beware listening to this song if you are riding the train home drunk. I had to tell people on numerous occasions that I caught myself weirding people out. This was due in part to me staring off into space a lot and looking like I was eyeballing people hard core. Easily remedy this situation by dawning some dark sunnies, and zoning the heck out.

Favorite part of both singles would have to be those ethereal vocals. To me, they either make or break a band trying to get this particular sound. Through my scatterbrain thoughts you may be able to conclude that I did like this album a whole lot. I am desperately searching for some way to end this now, a lesson? Maybe a moral to this story? Please make more?

6/7

Well, the music doesn't sound very cheap. I think this band puts a good amount of effort into their tracks. I did not care for the vocals in “Sunshine”; they just sounded harsh and disengaging. It really ruined the song for me and I don't ever want to listen to it again. “The Truth” didn't really do anything for me either. I’m sure there's demand for this somewhere, just not for me.

Ooga booga.

2/7

These songs got that otherworldly, floaty quality to them. Everything is echoey and the voices are wispy. It’s sorta psychedelic, the kind of music you’d listen to while laying on the floor, potentially under the influence of some mind-altering substance. The vocals aren’t amazing, but they get the job done. They’re covered with a bit of distortion too so it’s hard to get a real feel for them. They get to shine a bit more in Sunshine cause they’re put to the forefront, but there they can be a bit too overpowering.

It’s chill, but it doesn’t have anything really substantial to it. I found myself wondering when the songs would be over, but if I just had this on in the background it probably wouldn’t bother me as much as it does when I’m straight-up listening to it.
If you like dreamy vocals and distorted and echoing instruments, with some guitar thrown in here and there this might be your thing.

4/7

The Bangles? The GoGo's? No, it’s Blushing. I was rooting for them, maybe because the others this week were not appealing to me, or maybe because they remind me of some of  the girl bands I like.

All said and done they were pretty good. I kind of get what they were going for, and they may get there because they are very close. I believe they have talent and vision so I hope they keep at it.

4/7