South Yorkshire rockers The Blinders are the latest act to see their spring touring commitments disrupted by the ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In a tweet posted earlier today, the band announced that nine tour dates initially pencilled in for March would be re-scheduled, with existing ticket purchases remaining valid for the new dates once they are confirmed. The indie outfit had been due to kick off a UK-wide tour with a gig at the iconic Camden Electric Ballroom on Thursday 4th March.
Inevitably our UK dates in March will not be going ahead. We are working on a plan to re-schedule them. All tickets will be honoured so please keep hold of them. pic.twitter.com/xwhrKLTBhM
— THE BLINDERS (@theblinders) January 18, 2021
When the band can get back on the road again, they will no doubt relish the overdue opportunity to perform songs from their second studio album, 2020’s Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath. That album – the follow-up to their powerful 2018 debut Columbia – also went through its share of disruption, with an initial May 2020 release date pushed back to July. It was worth the wait for fans and critics though, with the record enjoying near-universal acclaim.
Louder Than War hailed the LP as “an essential document and soundtrack for these quite frankly dystopian times”, whilst noting the group’s almost Manics-esque penchant for a slick literary reference with their neat nods to the work of Dylan Thomas, Ray Bradbury and Edgar Allen Poe. Elsewhere Gigwise voiced approval for the album’s flirtation with “an inspired, nuanced feeling that rattles the cages of realism.”
Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath spawned five sonically diverse singles; including the grunge-infused Mule Track, the fizzing post-punk number Forty Days and Forty Nights, and the brooding, Joy Division-esque Black Glass. A real highlight of the set was lead single Circle Song; a dulcet and reflective slice of pop-rock powered by a beautiful combination of melodic and stomping guitar sounds; akin to the classic rock feel of latter day Beatles tracks like Oh! Darling or Dear Prudence.
The Doncaster rock collective are renowned for their political edge; demonstrable both through the combative lyrics of earlier Blinders tracks like Brave New World and their dedication to active campaigning work: the band were participants in a For The Many tour raising funds for the Labour Party ahead of the 2019 General Election. However, in a recent interview with The Boar, bassist Charlie McGough suggested that the group had adopted a less polemical approach on Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath.
He said of the album “There’s a lot of tracks that reference political issues. But it is a more personal record, and global political anxieties feed into those individual anxieties, and exaggerate the feelings that we’re having in our own relationships. As opposed to tackling global issues head on, it’s more reflective of an overwhelming feeling of anxiety.”
When The Blinders next take to the stage they will do so without original drummer Matthew Neale, who departed the group after the release of the LP last summer. However, the band remain firm believers in the unique, bewitching of live performances: in a recent interview with Urbanista, they spoke movingly about how “the best shows make you feel like you’re the only person in the room.“
