Live Review: Still Blank - The Social, London 04/12/2025
Still Blank bring their shoegaze cool to The Social.
Still Blank hit London’s West End venue The Social on a wave of momentum. Their first self titled album was released in November to high acclaim and they’ve just completed a support slot for Royel Otis throughout Europe, including three shows at the Brixton Academy. Tonight marks the band’s debut London headline show, and it’s clear from the crowd’s effusive energy that they are certainly making an immediate impression.
The transatlantic duo were formed by a chance meeting in Liverpool’s music scene in 2022 between Hawaii-born singer/multi-instrumentalist Jordy and Manchester guitarist Ben. Their disparate backgrounds and influences have resulted in a multi-layered sound, a unique blend of shoegaze, folk and emotionally raw alt-rock. Their live show is utterly compelling, particularly at such an intimate venue where you can almost feel the beads of sweat from the band.
Shoegaze has seen quite a resurgence the genre reached its peak in the early 90s but was soon overshadowed by the rise of the American grunge scene and subsequently Britpop. This week has seen My Bloody Valentine gaining rave reviews for their Wembley Arena show, and Deftones recently announced huge headline shows for next Summer, which will be at the forefront of the major summer festival slots. The dense, multi layered, distorted wall of guitar sound that is a hallmark of the genre is employed to great effect tonight by guitarist Ben, who plays and commands the stage with aplomb.
Support tonight comes from LENNY, a new grunge influenced foursome from Manchester with a line in cheeky lyrics. ‘Plastic Sheets’ is memorably declared to be “About a fella I met in a Premier Inn at 4 in the morning who set fire to his nightstand”. Spoken word style tongue in cheek lyrics from singer Saul over a bass heavy groove are the band’s hallmark. Song ‘Supermarket’ is particularly entertaining with the refrain ‘Let’s go mental at the supermarket, give those workers something to remember’. It’s hard to believe this is the band’s first ever gig, with their confidence and assured performance, oozing all the youthful infectiousness of the likes of Pleasure Inc with their shades, baggy jeans and hipster aura that will surely see them make waves on the festival circuit in years to come.
Still Blank enter the stage and launch into songs from their recent album. Recorded between London, Los Angeles and Wales, it captures their curiosity and cinematic soundscapes that are so enriching in the live setting. With themes ranging from people-watching, dreams and nature the band are inspired by their surroundings, particularly during their time at producer Joel Pott’s remote cabin in Wales of which Jody said “It was dark by about 4 p.m. and freezing all day, so we’d light a big fire and drink whiskey and tea to stay warm”. The album was also marked by the added drama of Jody’s unexpected deportation from the UK due to post-grad visa issues adding a time challenge to the recording, and a real heartfelt, human edge to the struggle on the creative journey bands face today.
Second song ‘What About Jane’ has a prominent base line and an ominous tone of dreamy introspection, showing off Jody’s vocal strength and building to a crescendo of sound in this absolutely packed venue. Backed with two additional guitars, the sound has more of a ferocity than the melodic album version, with an almost Mogwai esque wall of guitar strengthened by singer Jody’s anguished wails.
‘Dead and Gone’ is their new single and sees a change in pace in the set with its hazily psychedelic vibe, which is wistful but also had a steely strength. The song documents the end of a relationship, the sprawling soulful track with its extended guitar solo is a set highlight and gets the biggest cheer of the night at the sentimental final line- ‘I got lost in you, for a moment’.
‘Cut Slack’ has a melodic dreamy vibe, with the lyric ‘Hung out like a rabbit in a fish tank’ called out as a personal favourite with the band as it encapsulates the feeling of being completely out of place. The song is a apt reminder of how we should give ourselves some space and be kinder as the band have explained “It’s a reminder to take some of the load off instead of carrying around unnecessary pressures on our backs—something the both of us are all too familiar with.”
The last song of the set fittingly is the first song they wrote together. ‘Rainman’ was written as Jody said “Being home on Kauai and laying under the stars at night, finding comfort in the notion of being but a small speck in the universe. Nothing matters, yet everything does”. It marks an emotional and poignant end to the show and their tour, after performing on the “Crazy stages” with Royel Otis, this is the perfect end for them in London tonight, as they embark on a very intriguing journey indeed.
Words by Brendan Sharp
