Das Blankout Releases Evolutionary EP Player 1
das blankout. matt burghardt, kim burghardt, patrik bilodeau at the wiggle room
The Montreal born and bred rock band Das Blankout are set to release a new EP Player 1 on October 6th. The album’s five songs rock individually and artfully combine to reveal a hidden story. Each track is insanely catchy and blend together perfectly, matching the band’s glamorous rock signature. The story being told is of a character named Player 1, “He has the mentality of a kid,” Matt Burghardt the lead singer divulges over the phone. “It reflects how we were as a band and talking nonsense before.” As the tracks go up in number, progressively killer songs reveal Player 1’s development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IpTznEHSuw
The first and favourite being King of the World, the title track of the rock trio’s last EP. “It’s a super closed off world,” Matt admits. The thumping bass line and kick-ass lyrics echo the early days of song making for the band, and the juvenile spirit of Player 1. The music video is super compelling and shows off the fun side of Das that can be viewed here. “As he grows up, goes through confrontations and arguments he realizes things and becomes more alive,” Matt describes the progression of the character as well as the songs. As track 2 hits this message is clear. Get Up is full of thrashy guitar riffs and repeats a catchy chorus that you can’t quite keep still to
Track 3 and 4 continue the story and each uniquely tell an aspect of the character’s development. The fifth and final song is impactful, its melodic start contrasting to the first tracks. Meaningfully named Player 2 the song shows the story coming full circle. “Playing video games when you’re Player 1 its all about you,” Matt says, revealing the story behind the character name. “You’re always competing [as Player 1], then in the end the character becomes Player 2 and it’s not about that anymore.” The self-interested immature character of Player 1 grows and learns reflected throughout the album until the final track where he has a metamorphosis and becomes Player 2. The story Das Blankout shares is one that can resonate deeply with anyone, as it tells of growing up, conflict, and learning. It’s self-reflective of the band’s own journey of creating music, which is obvious in the amount of passion and detail pumped into every song.
Das Blankout is continuing an Ontario/ Quebec tour with Toronto based rock group The Nursery in October. The Montreal show is this Friday October 2 at 9:30 p.m. at O Patro Vys with The Nursery and The Empty Yellers. $7/10. Go check them out, you wont be disappointed!
