6/2/2023 0 Comments New bloods bandHowever, the New Bloods cannot be accused of dodging race or gender issues in their music. Only two of the album’s 11 songs employ gender-specific pronouns. ![]() ![]() Although their lyrics borrow liberally from Haitian writers (“Behind Mountains” is based on an Edwidge Danticat novel) and Jamaican reggae groups (“Day After Day” rewrites an Earth and Stone song), the band’s Pan-African outlook is never explicitly addressed in their lyrics. Although most of them are black women, it’s telling that people of multiple races and genders are represented in the collage. The Secret Life‘s cover is a collage constructed from old photos of various unnamed people. Fortunately, the band’s music is just as interesting as its demographics, and its debut album, The Secret Life, shows staggering promise. When the New Bloods were an unsigned band with only a seven-inch to their credit, I thought to myself, “This is the kind of band that Kill Rock Stars would go crazy over.” I was proven right when the legendary label signed them last summer. ![]() None of these traits are novelties per se, but when put together they give the band a uniqueness that would make any adventurous music fan take notice. Portland’s New Bloods are an all-female, all-queer, two-thirds black band that play danceable punk without the aid of a guitar.
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