Blueanimal, an alt-rock group from Orlando, Florida, are set to release their third album next month. Entitled Figment That Was Me, the album is claimed by the band to be their darkest yet and it is obvious that in it the band’s singer/songwriter Luke Elms has a lot going on in his mind. Although mental illness is undoubtedly an issue linked to COVID, Blueanimal sidestep the pandemic slightly and wrote a personal album inspired by Elms’ personal history of depression. Clear influences of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains create an impassioned, emotionally raw sound that suits the lyrics perfectly, and the grunge style has been brought back from the dead for a concept that deserves its unabashed intensity.
The opening track “On My Mind” is a bluesy dirge that sets the scene like Dante arriving at the entrance to Hell, but the listener should not abandon all hope because although each track progresses this theme of mental decline, the album is never quite so dark again. There are plenty of slower songs like the brooding, stalking intensity of the Nirvana influenced “Anyone But Me,” and the beautifully melancholic acoustic ballad “Because of You,” but the band is also capable of occasionally letting loose with “Only A Man.” Nevertheless, this album sits on the more introspective end of the grunge spectrum, and is undoubtedly best enjoyed in the dark of one’s bedroom than dancing riotously in a crowd. Figment That Was Me is meant for uncertain times like these, and it will be released June 4th.
