The Blendours
Drama Queen EP
theblendours.bandcamp.com
The Blendours’ Trevor Treiber is a contemporary and West High classmate of Lipstick Homicide, and the one time I met him he was hanging with Rachel and Kate at Gabe’s. So, it’s no surprise that there’s a strong affinity between The Blendours and Lipstick Homicide when it comes to songwriting: They both write songs that are short, sweet and infectious. The Blendours songs on this EP are performed simply with acoustic instruments. Still, there’s a lot of pure punk rock energy even with a single guitar and no band.
They start out with “Ignore Everything” which crackles with energy, even if the message—“I’d just rather turn off my brain and ignore everything”—implies otherwise. Trevor’s voice on this song reminds me a bit of Weird Al Yankovic, which I mean as a compliment—like Weird Al, Trevor’s voice has a bit of nasal edge, but with crisp diction and timing. It’s a plain voice, but it commands attention. Given the Blendours acoustic style, a more direct influence might be the Violent Femmes: Neither band needs amplification to give their songs energy.
“Better off with him” showcases the Blendour’s talent for close harmony. This is a guy with serious vocal talent, and I think some serious training. You know how all the singers on “Glee” sound inhumanly perfect? Trevor has that, but it’s just him in his living room. The stand-out track “If you wanna hold me” has everything: pre-”Rubber Soul” Beatles songwriting, Everly Brothers harmonies and novel chord modulation.
“Donutland” is a Beach Boys homage in the style of their songs before Brian Wilson became a stoned auteur. “More than a game” recalls Buddy Holly by way of Nick Lowe: The way he sings “Pay-ay-ain” and “Gay-ay-ame” absolutely slays me. The Blendours’ always have a humorous shade to every song they do, but it’s no laughing matter how deeply good they are.
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