Blueprint Tokyo – Cinema Sounds (2022)
Blueprint Tokyo is a band that has captured the imagination of listeners with their atmospheric tones and catchy hooks. This is all on full display with their 3-track EP Cinema Sounds which captures the essence of peak indie pop-rock. Adding a touch of cinematic grandeur to indie pop and synth rock sounds, they hit some nostalgic buttons while offering a unique soundscape that is purely them.
Kevin Dawson and Andrew Hale, the duo behind those catchy tones, continue to make waves with their sound and hopeful lyrics. Having already gained positive praise for their sound, their beautiful dreaminess will fill you with a sense of hope for tomorrow. Across the three tracks of this EP, the duo is looking to reach new heights and are sure to hook a lot of new fans.
‘Say Anything’ opens the EP with a soft retro vibe. The synths have a misty feeling to them that washes over your senses and bursts with flames of vibrant colours. As you rest in the swirling kaleidoscope of colours created by the melody, the vocals tug at your heart with an undeniable call. Using poetic lyrics, the slight echo of the performance reaches out to something that brings a touch of darkness to the overall softness of the track. This is a fantastic opening track that gives you a hit of the fusion style of their sound while setting you up for the rest of the EP. This single’s immersive sound and emotion leads you into the next track beautifully.
The retro vibes continue with ‘LaRusso’ as the rock-style guitars curl around your senses. While the opening track filled the soundscape with mistiness, there is an early morning feeling to this track. It is like the world is waking around you, after you have been up all night. The guitars lead you forward into the vocals that retain the poetry of the lyrics introduced in the opening track. The story woven into the single is one that you can easily relate to. A touch of melancholy washes over memories invoked by the lyrics and makes you yearn for a more innocent time in your life. While there is this feeling of having lost something, it is tempered with a hopeful reach into the future. Riding the mixture of positive and negative emotions, you have a sense that things will work out even if they are not the same as they used to be. The slightly abrupt ending to the track is really wonderful and just adds something extra to the emotions churning inside you.
The EP comes to an end with ‘Sailor Girl’ which takes a heavier synth approach than the last track. There is a moving feeling to the beats that sinks into your muscles and gets you moving to the sound before you really know what is happening. There are a lot of layers to the music with synths opening the track before the roll of the drums pushes you forward into the rich sound of the saxophone. This track is a stunning showcase of the fusion style of the band and could easily be a track that you listen to again and again. While the melody does a fantastic job of keeping you hooked, the harmonised vocals that weave between the notes call out for help. As you listen to the vocals, it is like the duo is taking your hand and pulling you into a future where everything is better as long as it is done together.
Across the three tracks of Cinema Sounds, Blueprint Tokyo showcase their masterful ability to fuse modern and retro tones into catchy and immersive songs that you can’t get enough of. It is not only the interplay of modern and retro that captures your senses, but the delicate contrasts of positive and negative emotions. Through the tracks emotions churn in your chest, only to leave you with a tingling feeling of hope for the future.
Find out more about Blueprint Tokyo on their website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
