The Early Mornings - 'Blank Sky'
The Early Mornings spit in the face of convention with plucky new post-punk track ‘Blank Sky’, inviting listeners to “find the truth in nonsense.”
The north of England is used as a shorthand for gritty kitchen sink realism in all kinds of art, but this tongue in cheek offering from the up-and-coming Manchester three-piece takes a different approach.
The song’s tone is marked by an aesthetic of discordant banality, reflected in the accompanying DIY music video. Empty frames of grey Manchester scenery creating a sense of dreariness which is occasionally warped by playful, colorful interstitial moments of relief. It looks like the group had fun putting it together, in contrast to the despondent vibe emanating from the colour palette and stark cityscape setting.
‘Blank Sky’ draws on the post-punk and spoken word performance traditions; lead singer Annie Leader’s a-melodic, sometimes snarling and rarely ‘singing’ vocal delivery is reminiscent of Salford’s own Dr. John Cooper Clarke. Against a simple twanging melody atop a throbbing bassline (the work of bassist Danny Shannon and Rhys Davies on Drums), Leader sardonically basks in the ennui of her natural habitat.
Despite a somewhat ‘blank’ backdrop, the song itself feels subversive, with minimalist instrumentation and lyrics which drift between fragmented abstract musings and colourful metaphors, is epitomised as Leader asks “is time a trickle of a urinal, or the crash of a waterfall?”
The song runs at a bold four and a half minutes, and it’s clear the group has a lot to say, even if it takes a bit of interpretation. For those up to the challenge, The Early Mornings will be releasing their debut EP Unnecessary Creation on June 18th 2021.
Words by Joe Buncle