Green Blanket, known for their effervescent blend of pop, rock, indie, shoegaze, and space grunge, are back with a brand-new album, Who Am I Talking To?.
A four-piece from head to toe, the band create off-kilter tracks of love, despair, hate, comic relief and ambience – it’s a party for the ears and has seen them rise from their Geelong base into the Melbourne music consciousness.
Their debut release, Raw Dingo, has come and gone, and Green Blanket have, according to vocalist and guitarist Max O’Connor, made several developments as a
band – professionally and musically.
“This time ‘round, [the album] is calmer, more cynical, but the humour still remains. I try to just stay on her good side,” he laughs.
So what to expect from the sound in the new album? Well, that label of space grunge, quirky and endearing as it may be, may not be entirely accurate, and O’Connor is wonderfully whimsical when it comes to trying to sell Green Blanket and get punters along to their upcoming show at Red Betty.
“It was a patron that labelled us that,” says O’Connor, “but essentially I would say it’s the mix of the instrumentation breakdowns, playful feedback and spicy lyrics that give it a space grunge feel.
“Ultimately it is up to the crowd to decide if that’s an appropriate label for us. As far as I’m aware neither of the four members have been cloned, so for that reason amongst many more we are 100 per cent unique.
“The band’s not for sale, but if I had to conjure up some curiosity, I would offer the sensation of feeling like an organism instead of an algorithm whilst attending our shows.”
There was an unabashed humour, a raw comedy but also a very rabid vein of punk in Green Blanket’s first release – now in Who Am I Talking To?, O’Connor takes a moment to contemplate and reflect on their journey, introspective whimsy bubbling to the surface again.
“As human beings we are constantly growing and discovering. And I think it’s inevitable that those elements will always find their way into whatever art form you are indulging in at the time.
“I guess, personally, the older I get the more accepting I become of my own flaws … it’s trying to turn flaws into charm that is the trick.”
A new album means a new single – ‘Muscle Memory’. “There’s several different experiences that combined to inspire that song,” says O’Connor, “but I guess ultimately it’s the feeling of being forced to be a cog in a masked machine and no one knows why the machine needs to run at all.”
With a launch show to celebrate the release of ‘Muscle Memory’ coming up at Red Betty, O’Connor says that because Green Blanket have played the iconic venue before, they have a few things they want to make happen to make this one extra gnarly.
“We really loved the atmosphere. We try to make every show unique and to some extent spontaneous. But I think we’ll have to pull a few rabbits out of the hat for this one.”
Supporting them on the night is Golden Age, a band O’Connor says Green Blanket chose pretty much just because they like them.
“We just get along with them as people and musically they bring a nice deep wall of sonic pleasure. Plenty of guitar slaying and nice layers.”
Green Blanket launch their new single, ‘Muscle Memory’, at Red Betty on Saturday October 5. It’s all free, head to the venue website for more info.
