A textured rock intensity consumes on “With/Without,” an enveloping new track from Denver-based band Blackberry Crush. The release represents the first single from their upcoming EP My Own Backyard, which explores “the confusion of growing up; the middle years.” This journey to adulthood exudes a sense of in-between, with simultaneous yearning for a childhood’s carefree bliss, though also pining for the freedom of adulthood — while still being wary of its looming responsibilities.
The EP, which was mixed by Corey Coffman (of Gleemer), navigates childhood through both child and adult perspectives — ruminating on the future and past across five tracks that convey the solitude of growing up, and also a variety of situations that arise — from where one is forced to assume adulthood responsibilities too soon, to a strong desire to become an adult and embrace its independence.
“With/Without” develops with climactic allure. Fantastic, dexterous drums build into jangling guitars with a grungy nostalgia, excelling further into a distortion-laden buzzing as dreamy vocals enter the mix. The one-minute turn compels in its swell from solemn guitar pulses into an intensified rhythmic backing, attaining an alt-rock and shoegaze-y fusion as multi-layered vocals ease in thereafter.
The track’s final minute is a commanding display of rock-forward atmospherics, melding whirring guitar ardency and rhythmic bustling with faint, ghostly backing shimmers. “With/Without” is another fantastic track from Blackberry Crush, who first caught our ears earlier this year with the track “Goodbye.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
