Blackout Transmission – “Twilight & Resonance”

New Mexico’s Blackout Transmission is back with their second album, Twilight & Resonance, and this one hits differently than their debut. The band relocated from Los Angeles to the high desert, and that move shaped everything on this record. You can hear the landscape change in the songs.

La Tierra Drift opens things up and immediately paints the picture. The vocalist sings about swapping city life for birdsong and piñon trees, and the guitars back that up with heavy reverb that cascades over everything. The bass and drums keep it all from floating away completely, which is necessary here. Ultra Azul leans harder into psychedelic territory with phase-shifted guitars and analog delays that eventually turn into walls of distorted tremolo. Ascension (Towards Sangre Skies) goes a different direction, tackling social disconnect with post-punk drive that builds to a big anthemic finish about rising above the tree-line.

When the Aspens Turn uses simpler refrains but piles on guitar layers that create real depth. The reverb and vintage amp sounds are dialed in perfectly here. Las Estrellas en Alta mixes synthesizer washes with modulated guitars and drumming that borrows from Neu!’s motorik style but runs it into dream pop space. Kairos closes out the album with layered guitars and analog sequencer patterns. The double-tracked vocals sit in tape echo and plate reverb, wrapping everything up nicely.

The album runs 34 minutes, which is perfect for what they’re doing. It tells a complete story about displacement and connecting to a new place. If Echo & the Bunnymen, Ride, or The Church are your thing, you’ll probably dig this. The dark purple vinyl with Jonathan Keeton’s artwork and Jeff Holmes’ design work looks great too.

Check out their earlier stuff if you haven’t already. Follow Blackout Transmission on social media to stay in the loop on future releases.