Electric Blanket Transform Near-Death Experiences into Avante-Garde Indie Rock

There is a strange sense of tranquility or euphoria following a near-death experience. And as macabre as that might sound, Electric Blanket captures that quite evocatively through the batch of songs on their new album, “Terminal Leisure,” which comes out this weekend.

Drawing from influences in the realm of post-punk and melodic shoegaze, as well as leaning into the darker/avant-garde side of indie-rock, Electric Blanket took a macabre theme and twisted it into a bit of whimsy with some bonafide ear-worm choruses that get stuck in your head for days. Imagine a blend of Sonic Youth, The Stooges, Karen Carpenter and The Breeders.

This mixture of the brooding and the buoyant came in early 2017. Savannah Gaines worked out arrangements for their first batch of songs on guitar, Arian Monceaux wrote lyrics, added vocals and tambourine and Anie Parker added keyboard to the mix. Dennison Dorsey joined the band in early 2018, and their debut album, “Viper,” came out last fall.

All four members are also visual artists and they’ve channeled that talent into designing all of their own promotional material and album art. 

The band says that “Terminal Leisure” was a wholly collaborative effort, with each member contributing songwriting and trading instruments. The album was recorded in April and engineered by Elly and Rishi Daftuar, of Ypsilanti-based based Tanager, and Isaac Levine, who would also mix and master the final album.

And while the band confirmed that some of their content is influenced by near-death experiences, they also added that they are motivated by fortifying female solidarity in a male-dominated world. 

Electric Blanket’s album release party will be this Saturday at Dreamland Theatre in Ypsilanti, Mich.