Lost Tunes Album Review

Cheap Sodas and Ice Cream Kisses By Blanks

One of the ways that I have found my favorite artists recently is through YouTube and TikTok. About 2 years ago, I was browsing YouTube and saw this guy doing a “one hour song challenge” where he took a popular song, changed the genre and did a fantastic cover of it, all in the span of one hour. I later found out that this random guy on Youtube made fantastic music and entertaining content, so I subscribed. Music By Blanks, also known as Simon de Wit, is a 21 year old music producer and youtuber from the Netherlands. The setting of his videos are always the same, shot in his studio where he plays guitar, piano synthesizers, bass, drums and sings vocals all while mixing, mastering and producing all of his tracks. I had the pleasure of taking a month long class taught by blanks about music production and creation and it was the best investment I have ever made in myself. He was an amazing teacher and clearly showed all of his thinking and production tricks that make him who he is. 

His newest album Cheap Sodas and Ice Cream Kisses is a must listen. All of his songs are upbeat, dance-y indie and just all around fun to listen to. The album name comes from the first song on the album Favorite Nightmare, a song that is just so fun to dance to, a common theme in Blanks’ music. 

There is just a great youthful excitement in all of his songs that is hard to replicate. He takes a lot of inspiration from 80’s music with his heavy use of electric synthesizers that really make his songs pop. Another notable aspect is his drum use. He rarely makes a slow song and tends to use a technique called 4 on the floor where the kick drum hits on every beat making the pulse of the song feel fast and exciting and making the song very danceable. He is a name you are going to want to know about in the very near future as he gains thousands of listens a day. If you have a chance, definitely check him out. 

My recommendations to listen if you want to get into blanks:

Favorite Nightmare

Silly People

Seaside

Don’t Stop