Blank Realm - Illegals in Heaven
by Paul Waller
published: 8 / 9 / 2015

Label:
Fire Records
Format: CD
intro
Excellent latest album from underground Australian indie rockers Blank Realm finds them making a play for major success with positive results
Some records just leave you with a good feeling; ‘Illegals in Heaven’ is one of them. I dare you to listen to ‘Palace of Love’ and not feel euphoric at the end of the song. It’s an uplifting record in parts, which is odd as it does feel shoegazy in so many places. ‘Illegals in Heaven’ is Blank Realm’s sixth or seventh, maybe eighth album, It’s hard to tell actually. They have been so prolific that even a Google search will give you contradicting statistics but with this one the band have embraced the pop hook for all its worth. It’s fair to say there is still a wealth of smoky reverb applied to the majority of tracks which lend the group a Gothic feel in places but from the offset, as soon as Blank Realm launch into the pacey ‘No Views’ you feel the band is on a victory lap. Within these grooves, I hear hints of Slowdive, the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and even Metallica. Let’s not beat about the bush actually; the intro to ‘Flowers in the Mind’ lifts the introduction to ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’in its entirety. If Lars Ulrich gets wind then Blank Realm should prepare themselves for court. Yet overall the sound is somewhat unique in its approach. I wasn’t really a fan of the band’s previous work but this has turned me around. It’s a happy record for unhappy people, a ray of sunshine on a miserable day.
Track Listing:-
1 No Views2 River of Longing
3 Cruel Night
4 Costume Drama
5 Costume Drama
6 Costume Drama
7 Gold
8 Palace of Love
9 Too Late Now
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/blankrealmbandhttps://twitter.com/blank_realm
Label Links:-
https://twitter.com/firerecordingshttps://www.facebook.com/Firerecords
http://www.firerecords.com/
https://firerecords.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/fire_records/
https://www.youtube.com/user/FirerecordsUK
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reviews |
Go Easy (2013) |
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Melodic, yet distorted paranoid post-punk on latest album from Brisbane-based quartet, Blank Realm |
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