After an astonishing run of over half a dozen full-length LPs and cassettes in the span of two years, Vermont-based lo-fi Casio-pop duo
Blanche Blanche Blanche moved to Brooklyn and began performing and recording with a full-band lineup, releasing their eighth album,
Breaking Mirrors, on Wharf Cat Records. The record was simultaneously more prog rock as well as more punk-sounding than their previous work, with spiky guitars and increasingly convoluted arrangements. The album was a lot more aggressive and sometimes more frustrated than previous
BBB releases, lacking their oddly tender moments. Sarah Delaney Smith's vocal range hadn't increased too much, but her delivery had more of a barbed-wire attack to it, playing with rapid, numbing lyrical repetition ("Zeroing In," "Fire," "Grey Pet") and alliteration ("Arrive Alive"), and the album's lyrics were significantly more biting and political than before, especially on the furious "TED Talks." Taking full advantage of the recording studio, the group created one of its fullest-sounding and most exhilarating albums. ~ Paul Simpson