Blone Noble Life’s New Adventure LP
Debut LP from Los Angeles-based BLONE NOBLE, the brainchild of Pat Salway, pictured on the album cover. I imagine this is going to be something you love or hate—the featuring of this release in MRR may have inner critics and readers alike wondering if this falls into the “punk-adjacent” category at all. Prefaces aside, Life’s New Adventure is a dark, moody, synth-driven self-exploration on vinyl. Describing his genre as “doomsday disco,” referenced from the Post-punk.com article on the band, makes for an on-point description. I hear similarities to fellow L.A.-ers COBRA MAN (following the disco thread), with the vocal saturation and broodiness of ORVILLE PECK. I also hear shades of JONATHAN RICHMAN on “Cosmic Ghetto,” with spoken word verses and shouted choruses. In addition to the spiky, haunting synth, a drum kit and drum machine keep a simple, slow beat while bass lines slap, bounce, and give way to that disco groove, with guitar lines taking a backseat in the mix. For me, genre squabbling aside, I really like this. It’s both moody and driving and somehow…fun? Sure, it’s a throwback to ’70s and ’80s disco, glam, synth—especially watching the VHS-quality music video for “Weapon of Love” from a previous release—but what isn’t some homage or amalgamation of sounds these days? Try it out and you decide.