Blanketman’s debut EP covers familiar turf while avoiding lapses into pretension

Their PIAS-released debut EP wholeheartedly sticks to this blueprint, one that finds Adam Hopper’s elastic holler inviting comparison to a slew of Talking Heads-indebted counterparts while bearing a vocal pliability that lends itself well to the band’s broader genre-bending moments.

National Trust is evidence of the quartet less rigidly abiding by convention, a tendency that is perhaps most prominent on “Dogs Die in Hot Cars”, its endearing indie thrum indicative of a resistance to being instantly labelled. Such an approach is extended to its lyrical ambition, broaching societal divides with a humorous frivolity. “Leave the South”, for instance, touches upon geographical difference with a wry wink, a tentative dig at cut and dry regional stereotypes matched with frenetic guitar hooks and peppy percussive punch.

This less restrictive outlook is similarly mirrored in a sonic sense, transitioning between Sports Team and early New Order on “Blue Funk”, a flexibility that finds further room to breathe via the blithe brevity of the title track, a wired two-minute jaunt that sees Hopper quip about class loyalty and the merits of rural living, opining: “Castles, cottages, coastline, countryside / There’s no place I’d rather hide”.

Blanketman, as such, rattle through seven tightly executed tracks with a spring in their step, covering familiar turf while avoiding lapses into pretension; the four-piece contributing their own voice with concision and a socially aware impishness.