Forming in 2004 from the combined talents of Saskia Van Der Giessen, Arne Wolfswinkel, and Bas Snabilie, Labasheeda have spent the last few decades creating truly memorable sounds. Their latest album, ‘Blueprints’ follows the incredible response to their previous EP ‘Old Traditions’, delivering eleven original songs that all shine with heart, warmth, and undeniable, indie-rock charm.
Their sixth full-length album to date, ‘Blueprints’ sees the band at their reflective best, cultivating a rick and vibrant listening experience that builds perfectly from one track to the next. Packed with captivating hooks, rolling atmospherics, and beautiful vocals that float on waves of raw, pristine emotion, ‘Blueprints’ is arguable the band’s most lasting and impacting collection so far.
Through opening songs ‘Fossils’, ‘Closure’, and ‘Sparkle’, Labasheeda delve into the heart of poetic indie rock sounds, tying together nostalgic early 2000’s sounds with the addition of tasteful strings, raw, human moments, and flourishes of more dominating early punk energy. In ‘Homeless’, the trio fight their way to more direct, sonic sounds, conjuring up comparisons to Siouxsie and the Banshees, and further explore more progressive, almost sultry sounds in ‘Vanity’ and the instrumental ‘Volatile’.
There’s plenty of tricks to enjoy and genres to explore as ‘Blueprints’ unfold, showing that Labasheeda aren’t afraid to keep pushing boundaries and expand their sound, even now on their sixth record. In ‘Minus Minus’, one of our favourite tracks from the album, they conjure up spikes of classic death rock, balancing it perfectly through gentle synth tones, while ‘Tigre Royal’, the album’s longest track, carves out a familiar indie path. In the end, everything builds to the final tones of closing number ‘What Remains Is Love’, a perfect final piece that reinforces the magic of the album.
For a lot of bands, it’s easy to fall into a familiar and somewhat dull pattern as their careers progress, but with ‘Blueprints’, Labasheeda have shown they are still as exciting, relevant, and impressive as ever. While they have certainly developed a strong and confident repertoire of releases in their time, the new album show that they are still at their creative best, brimming with fresh ideas and constantly transcending boundaries.
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