The music of Australian quartet Blank Realm is pretty shambling, and that's a big part of their charm. They often stick raw jams and abstract sounds between crafted tunes, and even their sharpest stuff has a loose, wandering quality. Think of it as structured chaos-- or as member Daniel Spencer (one of three siblings in the group) explained in 2008, "It's something we have control over but also kind of don't." The results can be tedious, but more often they’re engaging, and sometimes even moving.
Along the way Blank Realm have also hit on some melodic gems. Last year they released an infectious, Clean-sounding single called "Falling Down the Stairs", tightening the screws without losing their personality. Go Easy furthers that intriguing development, resulting in their best, most coherent album yet. Blank Realm still sound impulsive and unruly, eager to noisily color outside lines. But everything here fits together snugly, and most tracks are grounded in classic rock and post-punk, evoking the way mid-90s-era Royal Trux (see Cats and Dogs) made rock sound primitive while still mining its history.
It's clear from the start of Go Easy that this is a bigger, bolder Blank Realm. Opener "Acting Strange" sprints from the blocks with a chunky, hardcore-ish bass line, then adds engine-rev guitars suggesting Sonic Youth soundtracking a biker flick. A slower bass at the end drifts into follower "Cleaning Up My Mess", a bluesy waltz in which Sarah Spencer's snarl hits Jennifer Herrema levels. That pair of tunes sets the album's template: churning rockers bled into slower swings, both dipped in guitar fuzz and punk sneer. But that sneer is more world-weary than rebellious: Go Easy sounds like it's been around the block a few times. All the thick atmospheres and heavy sentiments have a gravity that's stronger than mere attitude.
Yet despite that heft, Go Easy is pretty entertaining, too. Much of the album flies by in an excited rush, as the band smartly fills the stereo space with sparking, fired-up sound. Even when they dip into something farther out, as in the disembodied echo of "The Crackle, Pt. 2", they follow with their most enervating tune, "Pendulum Swing". As that track moves from simple pound into guitar pyrotechnics, it's clear Blank Realm are still chasing that sweet spot between controlling their sound and setting it free.
That goal becomes explicit on Go Easy's closing, slow-boogie title track. "I was smoking in the passenger's seat/ I was listening to the radio," the Spencers hum wistfully over big, dusty riffs. "They don't ever play the songs I like/ So I learn to just let it go." That simple scene could actually be a Blank Realm manifesto-- except on Go Easy, the songs they like and the ones they let go turn out to be the same thing.
