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Blazer 4 out of 5
Last Wave LP
Just one listen to 'Already There' on Blazer's mini album tells you all you need to know. This Ohio act are undeniably 80s-influenced but instead of opting for the post-punk or funk route, they have chosen to evoke the unfashionable and unfairly overlooked world of lush synth-driven pop. That song features singing full of unhinged passion akin to The Wild Swans, whilst in the background lays a melody in a similar vein to China Crisis' 'Wishful Thinking'. It is a strident, agenda-setting beginning. 'Eileen' is classic "wimp pop", the kind of which you could get beaten up for, if you dared to admit liking it to your schoolfriends. Also taking the subtly atmospheric route are 'Undress My Mind' and 'Perfect Things To Say'; both of which continue the flair for fragrant melodicism. Blazer's music is always tinged with that sense of melancholia but it's unashamed sense of romance is a two-finger salute to the over-stylised world of rock today
Track Listing
01 Eileen
02 Undress My Mind
03 Cocaine Affair
04 Already There
05 Reptide
06 Perfect Things To Say
07 Introductions
- Jon Leonard U.K
Blazer
Sunday, January 01 2006
Contributed by: tmc
Blazer are a four piece pop band from the USA. They make that rarest of things great pop music. The emphasis is heavily on the synth pop sound from the early 80's. But not the electro clash kind of sound. This is a band more in tune with melodies and melancholly.
Blazer have a myspace page that has four tracks for streaming (and the two live recordings can be downloaded).
The band have an LP available to purchase via a Paypal account and I will be investing in this mini LP as soon as the next payday kicks in. January is always a tough month, financially. Which makes finiding bands like Blazer all the more pleasurable. If you are gonna be stuck at home because you over did the christmas spending - what better way than with some good free music.
Finding new music always gives me a buzz and the buzz that Blazer give me is more than pleasant. The band deal in simple and understated pop songs with a distinct early 80s feel. The songs seem almost wistful and tinged with sadness. - Lostmusic
Discography
Album - "The Last Wave" 2005
with the radio singles
"Already There"
"Eileen"
"Undress My Mind"
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
"The songs are well written and produced, and when all the elements come together, they're beautiful." Joe Minadeo- SCENE MAGAZINE
"Blazer are a four piece pop band from the USA. They make that rarest of things great pop music. Finding new music always gives me a buzz and the buzz that Blazer give me is more than pleasant." LOSTMUSIC U.K
"The Last Wave is an album which can be listened to repeatedly and each time something new will appear from the fabric of the simple yet memorable songs. Cocaine Affair’ is a tune which displays all of Blazer's musical influences in one track, a tune with a hint of Aha, a smidgen of Talk Talk, New Order and a smattering of Depeche Mode." Charlotte Otter- WHISPERIN & HOLLERIN
Blazer formed in the late spring of 2005. Although Raymond was living in Virginia and Jason in Cleveland, the Glenn brothers felt a calling to record an album that was conceptually inspired by the music they had grown up with in the eighties.
Bands that came after the punk era of the U.K., specifically, new wave bands were the primary influence, but from Bauhaus to Joy Division to The Police the spectrum of the concept evolved. From today the brothers look back and see the time period as new wave, post-punk, neo-romantic, and gothic. However, being children in the eighties, there is no doubt of the impression the decades pop songs had on Blazer. So of course bands like A-ha, Talk Talk, and Depeche Mode had an impact, as well as individual songs such as "Sweet Dreams", "Billie Jean", or even the Dukes of Hazard Theme.
After plotting over the phone and through emails the brothers found a space of one week to record their ideas in July of 05. Jason took a trip to Virginia and though the full album could not come to fruition, seven songs were recorded in that week. The first, the conceptual track "Introductions" or previously titled "1982", although only a minute long, gave the two a sense that they had tapped into a chemistry of collaboration. Those seven songs have become their debut LP "The Last Wave".
In the fall of 05 Blazer added drummer Allen Maier and bassist Steve Begala. Two of Clevelands premium musicians, with whom, Jason had previously worked with on projects around the Midwest. The two added new-fangled dimensions to Blazers sound and the live sets have evolved to incorporate all the bands influences. From today back through rocks history to Celtic music and including modern influences such as Interpol, Kings of Convenience, Bloc Party and Sufjan Stevens.
Blazer is continuing to play concerts often and planning to release a live cd in the spring. The Glenn brothers are in the process of recording an album to follow their debut mini-album The Last Wave. The memory of a childhood in the eighties is still present as well as their instinctual melodies. However, the recordings are producing a much bigger sound, a natural effect following the intimate Last Wave recordings. The Last Wave was a concept recording intended as a reflective audio timepiece about coming of age in that era. What is set to follow is a heavier more biting look at where time is.
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