{"id":84199,"date":"2023-11-09T21:52:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T20:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/?p=84199"},"modified":"2023-11-12T15:41:57","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T14:41:57","slug":"cd-review-blood-pick-me-unnormal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/2023\/11\/cd-review-blood-pick-me-unnormal\/","title":{"rendered":"CD Review: BLOOD PICK ME \u2013 UNNORMAL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Formed in the midst of the global pandemic, it is perhaps no surprise that Minato\u2019s BLOOD PICK ME opted for a distinctly shoegaze\/alternative sound. Despite drawing influence from \u201890s icons such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana, BLOOD PICK ME\u2019s five members have produced a debut album in their own image and <em>UNNORMAL<\/em> is a record that is in perfect sync with these troubled times, but it also has a timeless quality that will sound fresh many years hence. <!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BLOOD PICK ME - PEOPLE (Official Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OEJhNGSAK3U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Opening with an electronic pulse, an android heartbeat, <em>UNNORMAL<\/em> gets off to a rather unsettling start with the majestic title track and soon wraps the listener in a ball of distorted sonics. Making good use of musical dynamics, this song (and indeed the whole album) juxtaposes loud sections with quiet, and dense walls of distortion with huge white spaces, each acting as a foil to highlight and enhance the other, and the effect is like stepping into a hall of mirrors with sound fractured in every direction. Inside this exist the vocals, waif-like and ghostly, they seem to emanate as if from another dimension and wend their way through the icy, glacial sound like a lost soul looking for a home.<\/p>\n<p>The great thing about BLOOD PICK ME up is that they are a constantly evolving entity, and <em>NEO SUICIDE<\/em> adopts a more muscular posture. There\u2019s more emphasis on the guitar here; fuzzed-up and dangerous, it cuts through the air like an electrical current, crackling and sparkling and hot to the touch. Yet, there\u2019s always a focus on melody and tracks such as <em>BEAT<\/em> and <em>IN SECRET<\/em> take us in their warm embrace, the latter in particular, by employing a catchy electro beat, becomes hard to resist. The male and female vocals work well in tandem, sometimes at odds, at other times entwining, but always repositioning the listener and forcing us to reevaluate what we hear.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BLOOD PICK ME - LOST CONTROL YouTube Edit(Official Audio Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rR_V0uM53Aw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s a duality to the band that means they simultaneously attack your heart and head; this is music that makes you want to move your body (as all good rock music should), yet there\u2019s also an element that resonates deep in your soul. This is most evident on <em>All I Need<\/em>; after lulling us to a dreamlike state with a softly spoken mantra, we are suddenly shocked out of our reverie by a blazing guitar bust that\u2019s startling and stunning. This is an album that demands your full attention, you don\u2019t put this on as background music; while it can be darkly ambient at times (such as on the cascading <em>Apoptosis<\/em>) <em>UNNORMAL<\/em> is a record that demands your full attention and no more so than on the snaking <em>LOST CONTROL<\/em>, an electrified closer that ensures BLOOD PICK ME won\u2019t be forgotten in a hurry.<\/p>\n<p>Atmospheric and haunting, BLOOD PICK ME have created a unique sound which will transcend borders and cultures, and their debut album, UNNORMAL, should garner them some well-deserved global recognition.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-84205 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover-800x800.jpg 800w, https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover-75x75.jpg 75w, https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover-750x750.jpg 750w, https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/UNNORMAL_BPM-cover-1140x1140.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Tracklisting:<\/h3>\n<p>1. UNNORMAL<br \/>\n2. NEO SUICIDE<br \/>\n3. PEOPLE<br \/>\n4. BEAT<br \/>\n5. IN SECRET<br \/>\n6. All I Need<br \/>\n7. Kiss Of Heaven<br \/>\n8. Apoptosis<br \/>\n9. LOST CONTROL<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>The album is available on the major streaming services, such as Spotify , Apple Music and iTunes, but is also available via <a href=\"https:\/\/bloodpickme.bandcamp.com\/album\/unnormal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bandcamp<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Formed in the midst of the global pandemic, it is perhaps no surprise that Minato\u2019s BLOOD PICK ME opted for a distinctly shoegaze\/alternative sound. Despite drawing influence from \u201890s icons such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana, BLOOD PICK ME\u2019s five members have produced a debut album in their own image and UNNORMAL is a record [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":84201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"2","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"no-crop","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-715"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3073],"tags":[5965,7622,6082],"class_list":["post-84199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-reviews","tag-alternative-rock","tag-blood-pick-me","tag-shoegaze"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84199"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84284,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84199\/revisions\/84284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avo-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}