Music, Style & Culture

Blouse: ‘We’re Not Just After Nostalgia’

Charlie Hilton tells us about the band's particularly clever self-titled debut.

Can being called ‘nostalgic’ count as a criticism? For some bands, yes. They wrangle out all of the positive elements of a legendary band and instead of progressing from there, they produce a watered-down version of what they’re inspired by. For others, they mix-match inspiration of old and a new, exploratory wealth of ideas, in the end arriving with something that sounds fresh, almost futuristic.

This is exactly the card that Portland, Oregon’s BLOUSE happened to play with their Captured Tracks, self-titled debut. While a casual listener can take strength from the obvious homages and the 80s aesthetic, once probed into, this record reveals itself as particularly clever. Lyrics transgress emotion and intrigue towards the outside world - in part, it almost sounds like the audible version of a scientist’s written report; fascinated at the things around us and on a journey of discovery in order to find out more. So the first thing DIY opted to do was to ask vocalist Charlie Hilton about whether she enjoys the ‘nostalgic’ label or whether, perhaps, it’s become something of a frustration for a band who so clearly sport more than a cheap nod to an older sound.

How happy are you to accept the notion that your music is "nostalgic"?
We’re fine with that. It feels really natural to look back to other generations and distill what’s relevant to us. But we’re not just after nostalgia. The songs have their own messages and they tend to be pretty serious. In the beginning, we talked a lot about how the songs should sound. But when Jake mixed the first two singles, those mixes really defined where the project would go. It’s always felt to me that our treatment of the songs disguise their seriousness a bit, helping to balance things out.

Which bands did you grow up listening to? How have they had an impact on the sound you make?
I know the boys listened to a lot of grunge. All three of us had a pop punk phase. I was obsessed with oldies in elementary school. I’m not sure which bands from our childhood are influencing us now.

How did you end up being signed to Captured Tracks? They seem like the perfect label to release your stuff.
They emailed us after we put a couple of songs on a Bandcamp page. We started talking and they seemed like a good fit, so we signed. It’s been a joyous union.

What was your initial aim with the self-titled debut - is it a compilation of tracks that you've been making for the past couple of years or did you want to make something entirely new, made from scratch?
All the songs on the record are new. Both Jake and I considered putting some of our older material on the album, but we decided against it. We had about half the record done in June and we were scheduled to record the rest in a week. I locked myself in my bedroom wrote the last four songs.

What's the inspiration behind 'Controller'? It sounds completely different to the rest of the stuff on the debut, almost futuristic and spacey...
When I write a song, I always make a garage band demo to give to the boys. Usually the final recording veers pretty far from my demo sonically, but this one seemed to work well without many changes. The song is about different kinds of control. Being under it, having it, and succumbing to a larger force.

Are there any plans for another album soon? Or at the very least, plans for 2012? A big tour or a small, EP release?
We’re starting to make plans for early next year. A west coast tour in January, Europe in February. We’ll be at SXSW with Captured Tracks in March. It’s looking like we’ll be working on our next record in April, but we’re hoping to release a 7” before then.

How did you achieve that initial opening sound on 'Videotapes'? Was it just a process of de-tuning instruments while recording or something else entirely? It just sounds exactly like an old, scratchy videotape being processed through a VCR!
Jake transferred the music to tape and then manipulated the speed.



BLOUSE’s self-titled debut album is out now on Captured Tracks.