Blueprint Tokyo – Dark New Days

What comes to your mind when someone mentions indie rock music? Beautiful vocal harmonies, jangly chord progressions, lush synths, and a perfect rhythm section that keeps everything together? Well, those are all qualities that define the genre, but it’s already a proven fact that indie rock music has changed so dramatically over the years that we can barely recognize it anymore. Like many others, this style has blended with other similar subgenres, so you can’t even distinguish indie from alternative, shoegaze, or dream pop, and it’s just an evolution of a long-lasting genre that, at so many points, feels so necessary. While many artists and bands fail to integrate and adapt to these changes, other music outlets craft music that immediately embraces innovation and, besides all of that, sounds divine. Blueprint Tokyo is definitely one of those bands worth checking out, mainly because their music always sounds fresh, unique, innovative, and exciting while staying true to their roots. With “Dark New Days,” their latest extended play, they deliver six incredible compositions that breathe fresh air into this genre. The band breaks all the rules and shapeshifts the boundaries of indie music by implementing all the fundamental elements of it, all while infusing their music with some of the finest properties borrowed from alternative. synth rock, new wave, and many other similar styles. By including new wave and synth rock in this marvelous sonic equation, they keep that sweet, subtle, yet vividly hearable touch of nostalgia while pushing contemporary indie and alternative sound forward. It is a clever move that perfectly suits them, and as is usually the case, each song carries more than meets the eye, so this material definitely rewards repeated listens. Blueprint Tokyo combine everything you dearly love about this genre, reinvents them in such a unique way, and present a new, exciting face of indie music that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade.

Lyrically, these songs explore various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, making “Dark New Days” a highly relatable material that will immediately resonate with a broader audience. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, decorated with many clever arrangements, brilliant ideas, and outstanding musicianship. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose in this sonic equation, making this material so appealing to the ears. And of course, you’ll immediately notice how the soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, powerful vocal performance conveys the lyrics, acts as a centerpiece of the material, commands attention, and guides listeners on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. And while the entire material shines with the beautiful vocal harmonies, songs like “Orange Tiger,” “Here’s Your Story,” “Change My Mind,” and “Art Of Betrayal” are fine examples of how vocals emphasize everything the band intended to achieve with this material. The perfect balance between low, mid, and high notes decorates each segment and instrumentation, contributes more than necessary emotional depth, and adds complexity over an already intricate structure. Every composition is adorned by beautiful and thoughtfully crafted interplays between guitars and synths, which, in this case, act as a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon while also constructing that luxuriant atmosphere that defines these songs. You’ll notice how every composition arrives with lush, catchy, memorable, engaging synth themes, melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, and pads, lurking dominantly in the mix, while the guitars occupy the space beneath these synths, delivering tastefully assembled chord progressions and riffs. These guitar works are jangly, angular, polished, and clean during those calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal moments, but the band also adds distortion when necessary, amplifying the output and emphasizing those heavier moments where these songs need a subtle touch of rawness and aggression the most. It’s nearly mindblowing how all these layers articulate together without overwhelming each other, proving that Blueprint Tokyo thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing these songs.

Of course, this material wouldn’t be complete without the equally impressive rhythm section. Beneath all those lush guitar and synth works, the bass guitar roams, offering more than necessary support. From the opening notes of “Orange Tiger” to the closing beats of “Nite Valerie,” you’ll hear how all those intricate, vividly hearable, warm-sounding, clean basslines offer more heaviness, clarity, and depth while acting as a binding element between the mentioned instrumentations and rhyhtmic patterns. These deep, dense, heavy basslines give groove and detail without ever overwhelming the remainder of the instrumentation. The exceptional drumming performance, based upon tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, moderate beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics, keeps everything in line while dictating groove and pace. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation over the hi-hat, and splash over the cymbals gives more detail, groove, and complexity to these songs. Each instrument has its place and purpose here, making this material so worth revisiting all over again. “Dark New Days” occupies a special place on the contemporary music scene as a release that bridges the gap between contemporary music and nostalgia. It’s an absolute masterpiece of indie music that shines with many captivating moments where Blueprint Tokyo’s songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities go beyond comprehension. “Dark New Days” is a definite standout of the contemporary music scene and a top-contender for an indie rock release, and you should immediately place it on your music radar.