Blanket

Drawing from the atmospheric textures and expansive post-rock leanings found in groups like Sigur Rós, This Will Destroy You, and Caspian, Blanket formed as an alternative rock quartet based in Blackpool, Lancashire, U.K. Guitarists and vocalists Bobby Pook and Simon Morgan established the project in 2016, aiming to merge cinematic qualities from music they admired with the layered qualities of select film scores that could support custom visuals during shows. After developing initial ideas while living together, the group finalized its roster by bringing in bass guitarist Matthew Sheldon and drummer Steven Pellatt. An emergency soon followed when Pook salvaged his gear and belongings from a spreading house fire that injured his hands, prompting the guitarist to pause musical work while recuperating. Once recovered, he repurchased the bulk of his instruments and recording equipment through a crowdfunding effort organized by his girlfriend, channeling both the ordeal and his healing process into completing the songs for the band's debut release. Blanket issued that first EP, Our Brief Encounters, via Music for Nations in late 2017 and supported it with a tour across the country. In 2018 the single "Worlds Collide" appeared, later surfacing on the quartet's debut album, How to Let Go, which followed later in the same year. The musicians then refined their next effort, Modern Escapism, released in 2021 and centered on society's fixation with social media; the album was introduced by the shoegaze-tinged lead single "Where the Light Takes Us."