When aboynamedblu dropped his debut alone on most days he snapped up our attention with its genre-bending, rivetingly poised authenticity. A couple months down the line and he’s already dropping a follow up – and in a room with no floors takes its cues from grunge-rock, ’80s new wave, and an ever-present, always-pleasing indie undertone.
It’s a sequel to his debut, drawing on much the same thematic focal-points (isolation, drug-addiction, creeping anxiety, crippling loss – the sort of things most of us living through this day and age find comfort in) – but where his debut centered around neo-R&B proclivities, in a room with no floors veers it all in another direction entirely.
Grating, sinewy guitar rules supreme – jangling, driving rock confluence which throws it back to The Cure circa the mid ’90’s – which makes a lot of sense considering aboynamedblu cites his sonic inspiration for the EP an old CD mix which ran through everyone from Stevie Wonder to Nirvana. The influence is obvious, but somehow he also succeeds in making the sound entirely his own.
From the shifting, warping soundscape opener “BLU SIDE OF THE MOON” lapses into between bouts of rollicking rock frivolities, to the chiming piano slow-burner that is “LUCY STAY AWAKE”, he injects a unique temperament into every track. Even “ANYTHING YOU LIKE”, replete in the gritty guitar and playful synth of his inspirations holds its own with its ever-changing tempo and extended psych-edged outro.
And aboynamedblu once again delivers, solidifying himself as a fascinating force to be reckoned with. Get his guy on a stage.
Feature pic supplied by artist
