BLESSED Release New Album 'Circuitous'

Today Blessed release their progressive, avant-rock gem, Circuitous. The band's second full-length is a rich, moving and committed piece of work that expands on their eclectic discography. Blessed have sharpened their strengths, bringing everchanging depth and expansion to their song craft. The result is a sweeping, hyperreal, industrial art-rock tragedy, rendered in walls of noise, controlled drums, meandering ambience, and staccato syncopation.

Blessed have also shared a live session of their focus track "Trust" which lyrically raises a hand at climate change and the lack of action taken by the higher ups to avert it. Singer / guitarist Drew Riekman states, "The earth is getting hotter by the year, and people with the means to make change have zero interest in doing so. Being told that recycling my microscopic, by comparison, footprint is going to be the difference between survival and destitution, more so feels like having someone spit in my face."

Pulled from hours of jam material and hundreds of demos, Circuitous's eight tracks sprawl and thrash and burst and fall, sometimes for nearly eight minutes - lyrically speaking to agoraphobia, isolation, grief, the hyper-control of capital and the numbness it breeds. Blessed recorded Circuitous during winter 2020-2021 at Vancouver's Rain City Recorders with Matt Roach and Emily Ryan.

The record was mixed by John Congleton (Swans, St. Vincent, Wye Oak) and mastered by Greg Obis (Alabaster Deplume, Cloud Nothings). The group experimented with two different drum setups, eventually blending the two within a single song. The record builds on Blessed's commitment to creativity, introducing more synthesizers, programming, MIDI, sequencers, and experimentation in arrangements.

Blessed's longtime collaborator, digital artist Nathan Donovan, paired up with Jacob Dutton, to art direct and design all original art and videos for the record, centering on a nameless, childlike robot that embodies very specific, subtle and uncanny expressions. The robot appears on the record's cover and in their recent video / visuals for acclaimed singles "Redefine" and "Anything".

Since being established in 2015, Blessed has been on a relentless but precise creative trajectory, releasing three EPs, an LP, a 7" split, and a remix EP. Their most recent, 2021 EP, iii, earned positive acclaim from the likes of Iggy Pop, Talkhouse, Premier Guitar and Pitchfork. They've crafted a jaw-dropping live show experience and this fall hit the road with Stuck in support of Circuitous - see below for a full list of dates and grab tickets here.

Circuitous is available today across all digital streaming platforms, vinyl and CD via Flemish Eye.

Listen to the new single here:

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