Blame Confusion, the debut album from Solids, is a feedback-filled romp that shows you can take the band out of the garage, but you can’t take the garage out of the band. From start to finish, Blame Confusion is a fun, frantic release that’s worth a listen for almost all music fans.
Solids come off as a mixture of Titus Andronicus and Japandroids, and this is clear from the beginning of the album. Blame Confusion begins with “Over The Sirens,” a guitar-laden track whose vocals don’t kick in until the halfway point. From there, the album takes off with tunes like “Off White” and “Traces.”
These upbeat tracks start to slow down a little near the middle of the album with “Haze Away”—arguably the best song on the album—as well as the title track and “Laisser Faire.”
However, it picks up again near the end of the album with “Cold Hands” and “Not Complaining.” This gives Blame Confusion a weird symmetry that is easy to appreciate. Solids go from fast, to slow, to fast again, giving the album a depth it wouldn’t otherwise have.
Blame Confusion ends with “Terminal,” which is another contender for best song on the album. It broods on for almost six dark minutes and shows itself to be the perfect ending to the album. It’s neither fast nor slow, and balances the album really well.
The one problem with Blame Confusion is the repetition of themes and parts within the album. While each song is unique, there is some monotony between the tracks. This is a minor complaint, but it could become an issue over repeated listens.
The best part of Blame Confusion, however, is the mixing of the tracks themselves. The album is produced in such a way that all of the parts of a song, both instrumental and vocal, carry the same weight on the track. This is an interesting way to create and produce an album, and it makes Blame Confusion better.
Solids’ Blame Confusion is a great album by what very well could be an up-and-coming band.
Rating: A
