Blueprint Tokyo - Blue (self-released)

Blue is an EP that speaks volumes about how the music landscape has changed over the last few decades. If the dawning of the 21st century ushered in a post-genre creative wave, one that moved beyond the idea of genres and their sounds, beyond tribal allegiances and, best of all, buried the idea that analogue-made music and digitally designed sonics were opposing camps, then bands such as Blueprint Tokyo are perhaps the at the pinnacle of that wave.

Via just a handful of songs, this Oklahoma City-based duo builds epic and luxuriant soundscapes from chiming indie guitars and washes of synths, pop infectiousness and rock and roll integrity, electronic sheens, and raw-edged sonics.

That might seem as if they are throwing everything into the mix, and perhaps they are, but if so, their ability to edit down the songs until only the necessary musical strands exist is something that they excel at.

So, if songs like “Odysseus” are as epic and anthemic as such a name would imply, it is not because of sonic weight, volume or velocity but because of the deft and delicate walls of sound that they build. And if “Mission Control” appeals to rock fans’ love of big and clever music, it will equally appeal to pop fans’ love of infectiousness and groove. And if “Transfer” is dark and coiled, shaded and snarling, it is because it follows its natural inclinations rather than pushing style over substance. Like all those found here, this song has both style AND substance and has so in no small amount.

Blueprint Tokyo seems to have found the sweet spot between many points on the musical and metaphysical map, and the songs found on Blue sit halfway between analogue and digital, the past and the future, between muscle and melody, the shimmering and sharp-edged, between pop and a hard place, and the results are fantastic.

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