Blimp: Egg EP

Over the last couple of years, the next generation of punk and post-hardcore artists have slowly spawned from the woodwork. The likes of Lifeguard and Horsegirl both from a bourgeoning Chicago underground scene that’s moved beyond, with both bands signing to Matador Records. Closer to home, and London’s Middleman are gaining similar traction with their latest debut EP, Cut Out the Middleman.

Back across the Atlantic, and the West Coast has boasted impressive acts in this vein too, with Sprain, Bondo and Pardoner leading the charge. Now we can add another to the list: Blimp.

Like many young acts wielding guitars and drawing out songs beyond the five-minute mark, Blimp maintain an aloofness and a two-finger salute to self-promotion (simply known as Will – guitar /vocals; Chobi – bass/ vocals; Ren – guitar; Lucas – drums). Having spent their formative years raiding record collections from gurus and parents-alike, it’s all splayed across the canvass on their debut EP, Egg.

FACS: Still Life In Decay

A raucous, amplified journey of sound, Egg is shaped and stitched together by legendary West Coast producer, Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Low, Unwound et al). Laced with the early-era lo-fi grit of Pavement, suddenly what emerges through the plumes of cigarette smoke is Nirvana worship on Egg’s opener, How to Please Your Man.  

While not afraid to their wear influences on their sleeve, Blimp aren’t a homage band, with carbon copies and pastiche something a band like this would loathe to entertain. Look no further than the bridge in How to Please Your Man, which creaks with an eerie hush before the finale explodes into a howling mess, breaking through the barriers that lead to hardcore.

And on Misery Blimp intersect post-hardcore and grunge, stretching out the song like a rubber band as their wailing sequence of noise hits you flush on the jaw. On Hand Mirror Suite, Chobi leads the line on vocals with a song that spits and tumbles with metallic force, going beyond the fun of, say, The Breeders. Here, Blimp unleash a series of sprawling sonics that cut through the telephone wire.

With sparks flying, Cellphane sees the band dishing out the Unwound treatment and more. With splashing percussion that shifts tempo on a dime, Sara Lund would indeed be proud of.

Pile: All Fiction

Again, Blimp show their range with Believing – a lo-fi jangle thrum that almost sounds like Stephen Malkmus fronting The Byrds. They continue to stretch their creative boundaries, finishing with the emphatic Farmer. Simply the kind of song that gets bands signed to labels.

Slowcore in essence, there’s a swirling intensity that dances around the fringes of what Brian McMahan delivered all those years ago with Washer. As the static wisps of feedback slowing bleed from speakers, few young bands have delivered something so emotionally raw.

And that’s what Egg is. An EP delivered from a band keen to slam all their ideas on tape and show us what they are truly about. The attitude boasts a certain reality, and in an age where bands take an eternity tinkering and refining songs only for a devoted few in a world that is becoming more and more dismissive of art, bands like Blimp act as the last line of defence for outsider culture. And on the back of Egg, one thing is for certain: we will be hearing more from them very soon.

Egg is out now via SMD Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.