Various Blonde already obtain something that sets them apart from most, and that is their multi dimensional sound. Heavily influenced by modern rock and where that exists in today’s society where you can pretty much do anything you want to and you possess full creative control, this quartet have done that and then some. Certainly further inspired by 80s synth led bands that progressed music in so many sonic directions, they provide an electrocharged brand of rock that stands out.
Their new single ‘Obtuse’ perfectly captures this sound, hauntingly dark and electrifying, the verses take you back to those golden 80s days, reminiscent of Human League in Allen’s commanding vocal, the mind bending synths then transcend into something else entirely. The self produced single is brilliantly executed, and changes moods so swiftly, coupled with a high octane video to more than match the energy.
A song which was re-born by Blonde, ‘Obtuse’ holds so much to love about it. Twangy guitars even fill the air in the verses, with an eerie high pitched backing vocal tracked throughout that seeps through your mind. Various Blonde offer themselves to the masses with this single, which is set to be a part of their latest album to arrive later this year, and it’s more than evident that this is going to be their best work to date.
Q&A
Hey Various blonde! Tell us a little bit about the journey this song has taken, and are you happy with how it’s turned out?
The original version (instrumental) of “Obtuse” was written in 2017 for potential use in the series finale of the AMC show “Halt and Catch Fire”. At the last minute the network went a different direction with no real explanation. “Obtuse” didn’t really fit in with what we were working on at the time so we shelved it as a band too. We didn’t revisit the tune until 3 years later during the Covid-19 lockdown.
In the midst of all of our friends’ bands going on hiatus or just hanging it up, we decided we were gonna work on a new record whether or not we ever get to release it. These recordings were going to document this period in our lives no matter what. We released “Obtuse” in August as the third single from our upcoming record “Love is How We Will Survive”.
“Obtuse” has been well received by our fans and local radio 90.9 The Bridge but has been silenced by YouTube. We normally promote our new releases via the platform, but YouTube has flagged it for “promoting violence” and has prohibited us from promoting the video via the platform.
Honestly this came as a shock and was just not what we set out to do when we approved the treatment for the video. We appealed with YouTube but lost and haven’t been able to talk to an actual person to get a real explanation as to why they think we’re promoting violence with the video. All of the blood used is obviously fake and was used in excess in a comedic manner.
The woman in the video actually avoids the violence and disappears unscathed. It’s really just unfortunate to say the least. It’s not just about VB, this is happening to tons of bands. How do we create art freely when something as simple as a hand rolled cigarette or nipple poking through a sheet can get your video flagged? I’m honestly more upset about this than missing out on “Halt and Catch Fire”.
The syncs come and go but using AI to police art is here and it’s only gonna get worse. I mean, it’s art for fux sake! For better or for worse there’s not supposed to be any rules!
Give us a deep dive on the video for ‘Obtuse’ please, we love it!
Obtuse was filmed at Facultad de cine film school in Mexico City. It was produced and directed by Pablo Camarena who came highly recommended by our label (Discos Amatista). In the video we’re basically in an underground destruction competition where we smash toys, tv’s, and bloody pig heads. It’s one of two videos we filmed in CDMX. It was such a blast to work with such a rad, talented group of people.
Your energy is infectious in this track, has this always been an aim for this band?
Good, groovy energy has pretty much always been a goal of the band. This was the last song from my “writing the bass lines first” phase. Lotta groovy stuff came from that writing process.
The instrumental break at the end is such a defining moment of the track, who came up with the synth line?
Josh Came up with that line. That was the last synth line i recorded with my Roland EP-9 before i sold it to our drummer. lol
Any more singles to come from the album?!
We’re dropping one more this fall before the release.
And lastly, do you have anything planned to take it on tour?
We definitely plan to tour on this release in 2023. You can find the dates HERE.
LINKS:
http://www.variousblonde.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEMdlxPVcdrBLkTzFVIjS-g
https://www.instagram.com/variousblondeadventures
https://www.facebook.com/VariousBlonde