what the hell does Blank sound like anyway?

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Anywhere But Here CD
Somewhere between indie rock and pop, Blank perform ten semi-melancholy tunes. Their stuff has a very nice sound, even when the lyrics aren't that nice. Every song has a chorus that brings you in just enough that you can't ignore it in the background.

          - HeartattaCk #19

Anywhere But Here CD
Let me start by saying that "Headaches" is one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard. That said, this album is so good, I'll fight each and every one of you if you say otherwise. This is the final Blank album, the end of their progression from punk to emo/punk (yes, I will pigeonhole everyone). There are beaucoup de vicious rock-out parts mixed with an ample supply of charming melodies. I also like the variations in vocals: singing, screaming, whispering, evil retches, and hollerin'. My only gripe is with some of the lyrics, but I'm picky about poetry. Just buy it, fool.

          - Summer*Salts

Anywhere But Here CD
Four boys who give you every ounce of energy they didn't even know they had is what makes Blank one of my new favorite bands. Just listen to the guitars on "Clear Skies Ahead" and I guarantee Blank sucks you right in. You can hear a lot of Jimmy Eat World meets Jawbreaker influence but these Baltimore, Maryland natives go beyond being pigeonholed in the sea of overrated emo bands but throwing in metal-like guitar riffs and cross-vocal screaming/singing that makes this album nothing less than perfect.

          - Muddle #14

Anywhere But Here CD
I am so impressed by this emo band. Take Jimmy Eat World and Braid and you can sorta imagine the sound. It is incredibly creative and heartfelt music from a band that has been playing out since 1992. Melodic, sometimes poppy, always intense.

          - Impact Press, June/July '98

Many Will Play 7"
Sweet, melodic, so damn catchy, and real fucking good. This ain't your generic rock anthem band. Blank gives you a quiet reminder of bands like Jawbreaker with their loud power chord solidity and rhythmic octaves waving positivity to everyone that listens. Can't forget those double vocals which make me remember all the lyrics for the next road trip to sing a long to. I'm so impressed and wish I could have heard more of their other releases but most of them are either out of print or hard to come by. This is one of the best 7"s I've heard this HaC bout.

          - HeartattaCk #17

Appointment with Cyanide 7"
This 7" isn't as powerful and dramatic as the other one I reviewed but it still keeps me jumpin' around and singing for more. Blank shows the other mood they can create on this slab. They venture into the dizziness of highend notes as the constant pounding of drums is constant throughout the entire song. Imagine Tanner, No Knife and Mark Trombino of Drive Like Jehu mixing ideas with any dissident band off of Dischord and aiming to make catchy yet discordant music. On the other 7" they worked on presenting the force of the lower body of Blank with their jumpy catchiness and here they give you their upper body strength full of angst to throw you towards San Diego for a little taste then back to D.C. for the final showdown. Damn I love Blank, so fucking good.

          - HeartattaCk #17

The Race CD
Blank, the band that never sleeps, is back with another winner. The Race picks up where The Tab Street Affair left off, crunching and cruising its way through six new songs. The new EP proves that the guys in Blank have no intention of abandoning their punk rock roots. The record also shows a continuing maturation in their songwriting prowess. "Don't Get Me Started," and "How Could You Turn Me Into You" have the raw urgency of a first effort, but with the hooks hung in all the right places. The choruses of both these songs stay with you for days.

Lyrically, The Race is more cynical and suspicious than its predecessor. The anger is still present, but it seems to be seasoned with more disappointment this time out, as evidenced by the EP's closer, "Leaving the Kingdom."

It's been said before, but this really is a band to keep an eye on.

          - Ant Magazine, December '95

The Race CD
It kinda reminds me of being in high school and getting asked a question I didn't know, yet responding with such a kick ass answer that impresses the hell outta everyone! Blank offers only 6 songs, but it's good enough for me, the singer's voice is so rad it kinda reminds me of Mandingo or J Church.

          - Muddle #8

The Race CD
I first saw this band with the Pee Tanks at some Earthfest show at G.W. and the only thing I could remember about them is that the first song they played was cool but the rest sucked. I had recorded parts of the show on some hand-held tape recorder (don't ask me why) and I was listening to it a couple weeks ago and I heard this Blank song in the background which I kinda liked. So I said, "what the hey" and decided to order The Race. God knows I don't order enough shit in the mail anyway. Well, I guess my tastes in music have changed since then because I think this CD is pretty damn good. Blank's songs have a lot of emotion in them, yet they are somewhat poppy. I like it. Two of the songs on this CD are kinda lame but the other four are bitchin'. Anyway, the music is very melodic and the vocals are sung in sort of a whiny voice. Well, not really whiny. I don't know. I like the way the guy sings. On a few rare occasions, he screams the words and it sounds really fucking cool. These guys are smooth. They have a bunch of shit out and a new album will be out soon (I think) so try to go see them somewhere.

          - Megabeef #2

The Tab Street Affair CD
I remember seeing these guys play a couple summers ago and thinking to myself, "Yeah, I guess they're okay." Man, now I need to be kicking myself in the ass for going upstairs for the rest of the set. This CD is chock full of sing-along, heartfelt, punkish-emo goodness to set yourself at ease. Carrying a great likeness to Samiam's first LP, (right down to the vocals) only much better and more diverse, this album could very well end up being one of my top choices for '95. Get this now and avoid having me stalk you until you shell out those measly $8 out of your torn-up chain wallet and order this finely groomed gem of an album.

          - Punk Planet #10

The Tab Street Affair CD
Blank's debut CD is everything a first release should be, and more. It is big, raw, and angry, and shows great potential. Tab Street houses fourteen cuts of gut-wrenching, nerve-strangling adolescent angst. More than half the material here was written before the band members reached the age of nineteen, and most of the songs shoot off with machine-gun intensity and rapid-fire staccato exclamations. It's hard not to think of those early Minor Threat records, but Blank's sound is too honest to pass off as deliberate Dischord wannabees.

The CD is a compilation of previous recordings going back to the band's beginnings in 1992. The astonishing thing about the early numbers is the discipline they display, even "Wish It Away," the oldest track here. That song serves as an interesting reference point for its descendants, like "Teenage Ballad" and "Coffee House Revolutionary Land." While the songs have matured musically, they all have an anthem-like quality, each a virtual manifesto of urgent emotion.

Blank speaks to its audience in the most honest way. They sing and write about what they know and what they feel.

          - Ant Magazine, September '95

Guillotine Lullaby 7"
Cleverly, the record itself has no label - it's blank. Ha. Despite the gimmick, however, this is a very intriguing piece of vinyl. One song is a powerful, though fairly straight forward piece of hard-driving, squirrely Fugazi-style rawk, while the other is a twisty, understated, ominously quiet song that grows more and more interesting each time I listen to it. Great single.

          - Punk Planet #10

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