If ‘Plastic Hooligans’ was Remain Blank kicking down the door, then ‘The Kitchen Floor/ The Second Time’ is them confidently swaggering into the room. This Bolton four-piece aren’t interested in easing you in- they’d rather shove you headfirst into their world of wired post-punk delirium and sharp-edged indie hooks.
‘The Kitchen Floor’ is pure chaos bottled up in under four minutes. It lurches forward on a pounding rhythm section and jagged guitar stabs, all while Alex Lennon Heywood’s half-snarled, half-smirked vocals channel the absurd bravado of substance-fuelled nights where nothing feels real, and everything feels invincible. The fact it was written in five minutes only adds to its reckless charm- it sounds like a song born in one burst, and that is its greatest weapon.
Flip to ‘The Second Time’ and the band flex a different muscle- here, they’re not barrelling towards the wall but leaning back into something more knowingly melodic. Built on bright, addictive riffs and Séan Lane’s razor-sharp solos, it’s a hook-laden ode to teenage rejection, delivered with a wry grin rather than self-pity. You can practically hear the band smirking in the spaces between the lines.
Together, these tracks feel like two sides of the same coin- one sweaty and unhinged, the other self-aware and sly- and both prove Remain Blank aren’t just part of the new alt-guitar wave, they’re already sharpening their own blade within it. If this is the warm-up, the debut album could be lethal.