Photo courtesy of Blood.
Blood is slowly rolling out its three-track sophomore EP, "Bye Bye." Last month, they shared the tape's opener, "Money Worries," which switches between a no wave-indebted freakout and a lush, acoustic lullaby — conceptualized as an open letter to their unscrupulous landlord. (The Austin-originated sextet now split a seven-bedroom house with a converted basement studio in West Philly.) And today, they've released the project's third and final track, "Luck." Middle cut "Borstal Field" will drop with the full record's July 8 release.
Blood began as the solo project of its current lead singer and chief songwriter, Tim O'Brien, in 2017. They went through several lineup changes before coalescing into their current six-piece form and dropping their debut EP, the pandemic-influenced Why Wait Til’ 55, We Might Not Even Be Alive, in 2020. The following year, they migrated east — presumably to get closer to their spiritual homeland, the United Kingdom. Indeed, the band's forthcoming release will arrive via the Rough Trade-adjacent London imprint Permanent Creeps Records.
Their affinity for Anglicisms is clear on "Luck," though they seem to be students of post-punk from all areas and ages. The deep cynicism of a Mark E. Smith or a John Lydon is apparent in the new track's lyrics and O'Brien's delivery, especially in lines like "She was paying off her debts / To the pedophile press." In the track's final third, however, the song takes a melodic turn for the contemporary, calling on late-'90s Radiohead, early-aughts Strokes, and present-day Iceage to round out Blood's trans-Atlantic sound adventure.
Listen below.