MANCHESTER-based, Doncaster-bred goth-punk outfit The Blinders are back in the fray, with their second album in the can – and their latest single “Mule Track” is a dark thrust into the psyche.
The track is named for the painting in the Imperial War Museum, which depicts a mule train making its way through a battlefield. And the band – singer-guitarist Thomas Haywood, bassist Charlie McGough and drummer Matthew Neale – explain: “The idea being explored is that hell or versions of hell and heaven clearly exist within the world. It’s rejecting the notion that heaven is above, hell is below and we all operate in this middle layer with the aim being to get to the higher level.
“[The painting] can’t help but instil the notion that what is being depicted is some sort of hell on earth.”
It’s the latest track to be taken from forthcoming album Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath, which is out on July 17th and which offers a heady potion of dark, swamp-blues riffing and a willingness to stare into the dark side of life head-on. Think Nick Cave, but think Nick Cave circa The Birthday Party; think The Murder Capital; above all, think The Gun Club, and the brooding malevolence of Killing Joke.
Singer-guitarist Thomas has been flying the dark banner during lockdown with a series of sessions over at the band’s Facebook page, including some intriguing cover versions – with more to follow.
The band hope to be heading out on a UK headline tour in September, with dates in Edinburgh, Leicester, Preston, Hull, Southampton, and London’s iconic 100 Club.
Tickets for the tour may be purchased and pre-orders for Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath can be placed at https://www.theblindersofficial.com/
