If I wanted to, I could knock this easily. How many bands in Atlanta can bend strings at just the right times, chug just the right chords, assure their fans with just the right words? And why does this video juxtapose a low-budget horror flick with Blurry’s chicken soup of a single, “Bleached?” Behind these static-soaked walls of noise, the killer in the lamb mask seems to just frolic slowly behind the rest of the band, as they relish another fine cloudy day in the Georgia wilderness.
Yeah, the set-up’s right there, the punch line’s just dangling at my nose — but I dunno. The fact is, “Bleached” IS a kind of chicken soup, served with that pinch of self-deprecation that makes shoegaze and emo so sweet and any “alternative” bearable. The opening line nails it: “Summertime in the sun / I swear I’m no fun.” And if we backtrack to the video, ably directed and edited by Dominick Maduri of Toast and Jam Sessions, we’ll see that Krista Williamson (who’s not in Blurry, but King Luka) mirrors that self-imposed isolation, as she sits solemnly in the car while the other passengers chat around her. Even as they roam around the forest, she never quite feels at ease — and one could suggest that she alone senses the masked stalker on the prowl, but I know social anxiety when I see it.
Mind, I could be totally wrong, and the killer may actually be a killer instead of a means to visualize the loneliness that introverts can feel in a crowd. But let’s give Blurry their due credit. After all, lots of bands can bend strings and chug chords, but the real trick is in assuring their fans they’re not alone in feeling alone.
“Bleached” is the first single and video from Blurry’s new EP, Happy, available now via Bandcamp.
Blurry will celebrate the release of Happy on Fri., June 2 at the Drunken Unicorn. Opening for them will be Kelsi Grammar, Fairlane, and Good Thoughts. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $5. 18+ to enter.
More Info
Bandcamp: blurrry.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @blurryboysatl
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Twitter: @blurryboysatl