Glasgow’s Blush Club return with ‘Ornamental Ponds’, the first single and title track from their forthcoming EP set for release in September. It follows on from the charismatic guitar pop of 2021 EP A Hill To Die On. The 5-piece have created a catchy post punk romp inspired by lockdown mundanity. Is it through the arts that we will have the most relevant record of the toughest couple of years? These interpretations will give us perhaps the truest reflection of how the global pandemic impacted out everyday. But ‘Ornamental Ponds‘ is not morbid in the least, quite the opposite. It goes on to reflect on past relics that have lost or changed meaning, before taking a surprising turn for the last 30 seconds. Is it really possible to sing so fast? Vocalist Hamish Swanson rattles through the lyrics expressing his obvious frustrations:
“I keep on saying the same old sentences
but they don’t even really mean anything
I’m devoid and I am devout and I keep just saying the same old things
but it’s not really important I need to worship something but I’m not sure what”
Guitarist Phil Smith expands further on the track:
“I just had this riff floating around that was kind of discordant, but we decided to go with it. Once we brought it together as a whole band, that definitely shifted its direction and gave it that Blush Club sound. I’d been listening to a lot of Stephen Malkmus and was really enjoying those classic rock chord progressions balanced with a bit of weirdness. The chorus tries to capture that.”
Blush Club formed when Conor Heafey (guitar) and Cameron Gibb (drums) shared a bill with the
Hamish Swanson fronted The Vignettes at King Tut’s in Glasgow and were taken by his abilities as a frontman. Adding Craig Carrington-Porter (bass) and Phil Smith (guitar) to the fold completed the line up. They found they had shared influences and tastes, and therefore a common aim to create a guitar driven post punk sound, but with their own fun twist applied combining pop sensibilities and sophisticated observations.
Blush Club will play Glasgow’s Broadcast’s Central Belters on August 19, with support from Those and Oh Romance.
For more information on Blush Club please check out their facebook and bandcamp.
