Traceless by Drawing Blanks (2018)

Title:

            The time-honoured album naming convention at work here. How do you think they decided which track to name the album after? First one recorded? The mutual favourite?

Album Art:

            I am a big fan both of the eye-catching turquoise and gold colour scheme and of that epic fur coat. Looks very indie, very DIY, I like the vibe.

Overall:

Short, sweet, and definitely one for the headphones. I really like the dual vocals on a lot of the tracks and I actually wish they did more of that. Speaking of vocals, that lower voice you’re hearing is courtesy of one Sawyer Hill pre-Look At The Time internet fame and I think it’s really cool to hear how his voice has evolved since then (stay tuned for some rantings and ravings about his new record when it comes out).

Track By Track:

1.     Traceless

The immediate standout on the album opener is that drum sound, I know nothing about drum recording, but whatever they’re doing here is working for me. The echo effect on the vocal is neat too, but my main takeaway from this one is just how far Sawyer Hill has come has a singer since 2018. Always cool to get that little peek behind the curtain and you can hear the seeds of what’s to come as that grit kicks in around the two-minute mark. “Speak up, I can’t hear what you’re thinking” is a neat line and the cherry on top is that bluesy little guitar melody.

2.     Yeah Yeah

When I say that this record is meant for the headphones, this track is what Im talking about. There’s really cool tracking back and forth between the left and right sides that makes that funky guitar riff sound even more interesting. I just wish the bass was up a little higher in the mix because it sounds a little muddy at times (but maybe I just need higher-end headphones).

3.     Blood On My Hands

First off, I love whatever that synth or keyboard or whatever that is in the intro, it gets this song moving and grooving right away and doesn’t let up. I’m not always a song lyric conspiracy theorist, but that “half past time” line feels like an Easter egg to SH’s solo career when I listen to this with the benefit of hindsight – but hey its hard to hear some things through the tinfoil hat so maybe I’m wrong. I also like how that “shush” is right up in your earholes, it sounds like the guy creeping up behind you. Cap all that off with a pretty damn legit guitar solo and you have a very successful third track for this record.

4.     Mercy

Track four brings us, dear reader, to my personal favourite and probably the darkest song on the record. It’s an absolute guitar showcase right from those opening chords that fall into the ears like bricks – they’re just so heavy and so deliberately played that you can really feel he weight of every down strum. The song is incredibly dynamic with heavy, intense parts breaking into softer, lusher sounds like the audio equivalent of biting through the crispy outer shell of an M&M and into the gooey chocolate beneath. I really love the vocal harmonies we get on this one, especially because the two voices are so different – once again I wish we got a little more of that on the rest of the album. Lyrically I think we have officially made it to the point where I can make the joke about drinking every time they say the word “sinner”.

5.     Ember

Ember distinguishes itself from among the other songs by sounding extremely similar to the Strokes for the first few seconds. There’s a tiny bit of vocal harmony, but I really wish there was more – especially with lines like “screaming no one can hear” that really would’ve sounded more impactful with that deeper growl underneath them.

6.     Cling To The Light

Track six has a fuzzy, Southern slide to the guitar tone that feels a little at odds with the indie vibe of the vocal. It still works though, especially in the chorus where the voice acts more as a source of percussion than melody. There’s some neat little squeals from that guitar and a whole lotta words in a short space of time – good luck singing along to this one without pulling up the lyrics.

7.     Eat Your Heart Out

Now that is some crunchy guitar in the intro. As Eat Your Heart Out goes on that chunk turns slinky and sinuous which makes the grit in the vocals stand out beautifully. There’s almost something zep-adjacent happening by the 3:15 mark and I feel like I haven’t mentioned the drumming in a while, but it is also very good. Very happily we get some of those harmonies back to close out the record, and that deeper backing vocal adds so much texture and interest to the song – just listen to the “escape” line. Dear reader you can also go ahead and finish your drink if you were playing along because they did, in fact, say “sinner” again. A solid closer to a solid little record - go give it a listen.