Still Blank - Still Blank (Deluxe) (2026) Hi Res

When the discourse around Still Blank is largely of their transatlantic make-up, an emphasis on the merging sounds and influences often gets overdone. But on Still Blank’s self-titled debut album, they are there for all to see.

Rather than strangling either side and forcing them to embrace against their will, on this record, they waltz with one another hesitantly, scoping each other out to decide just how well they fit with one another.

The Skinny: For the most part of the record, they do quite nicely. Take Ben, the guitarist, for instance. His playing is a clear nod to northern England and the shoegaze sounds that may have influenced them, but in the band’s vocalist, Jordy, he’s found a perfect, albeit unlikely partner. Ethereal and hypnotic, she glides across his melodies like the transatlantic winds that brought them together, and in that pairing, Still Blank feel very close to being on to something.

But that’s the present feeling in the record. Greatness is almost desperate to break out of its shell and latch on to something. Naturally, that is the by-product of that almost laid-back grunge palette they’ve created.

Of course, when it’s good, it shouldn’t sound rushed nor should it break out into too much of a frenzy, but there is something inherently captivating about Ben’s guitar playing in particular that I can’t help but feel the melodies could be challenged further, to move onto something less familiar.

To do that, there feels like a fork in the road that this album has presented. One option manifests itself in the seventh track, ‘Vacancy’, which is almost Radiohead-esque, with its beautifully hypnotic arrangement. And the other can be seen in lead single ‘Same Sun’ and opener ‘What About Jane’, which feels more caustic and monochromatic.

Of course, this album proves they can exist in the same record somewhat seamlessly, but I would argue, the guitar playing is most captivating on the latter option and feel excited by a future where Still Blank embrace their heavier underbelly.

The Verdict: This is a band confidently finding their voice. It’s inherently charming in its DIY form, almost like a worn-out old scrapbook that reveals hidden charm with every flick of the page. But it’s time to choose which page reads best, and embrace it wholeheartedly because the skill is there to do so.