It’s a timeless slice of transgression, confession, self-reliance, and self-expression. It’s the perfect punk-power-pop-dance record to confront our peculiar moment. There Are No Rival Clones Here, the sophomore LP from San Diego’s Blair Gun (due out June 7th via Enabler No. 6), marks a multi-dimensional leap for the funny, focused, and fiercely intelligent group.
Blair Gun, you see, has a process. Tough, tight tunes such as the frantic and vaguely Fall-like “The Thief,” the sneering and propulsive “Bitter Men,” or this summer’s inevitable house-party freakout-inducer “Beat Happened,” doesn’t emerge fully formed from dudes noodling. By the time Blair Gun hits the studio, all their material has been tightly composed, revised, and rehearsed to the border and back, and put through numerous variations, iterations, and playful invocations.
There Are No Rival Clones Here packs enough hooks for a dozen typical punk albums, making it at times almost prog-adjacent. And yet, Blair Gun remains a punk band in some essential respects. Within a lean, mean running time, each song makes a distinct, unforgettable statement. You’ll hear strains of everything from the Germs and the Minutemen to Richard Hell and Elvis Costello to the Pixies and Pavement to hometown heroes Drive Like Jehu and Blink-182. They have influences, not idols. Rituals, not references. If nothing is new, Blair Gun proves that everything is therefore, in a sense, always new.
They know they have to create their own roadshow, which they prefer to do passionately, strategically, and on purpose. Their targets include self-destructive conformity and anti-intellectualism, cynical brand-building in lieu of self-reliance and solidarity, and the fruitless quest for simple solutions in a complex, interrogative world. The good news is, Rival Clones has enough jumpy, cathartic, infectious house-party fun to fuel and fortify its blistering, indignant intelligence.
Punk has always had a fraught relationship with discipline. To swing to one extreme or the other – to become rigidly doctrinaire or slouch into self-destructive nihilism – is to cede control of your destiny. Blair Gun knows the most righteous chaos is highly controlled. Power comes from passion, precision, and patience. At this rate, their third record could be downright frightening.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the standout track “Don’t Think,” a bouncing work of folk-punk that brings to mind the likes of the Violent Femmes with its loose harmonies and weaving, urgent acoustic guitar. Coming in at just over two minutes, the song hits quickly and makes a big impression as the band rails against toxic situations.
“Don’t think is our take on a classic blues song, dressed up just enough to fit onto the album. I wrote it about how hard it can be for anyone to make meaningful change in their life and how often we can all end up complacent in toxic situations.” – Joedin Morelock, vocalist & guitarist
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