U.S. protest singer Carsie Blanton’s new album After the Revolution (out today) is a feel-good romp through our late-capitalist dystopia, with an ear toward the beautiful future that exists beyond it. In a time that can feel so bleak, her spirited attitude is a tonic for the soul.
The album’s focus track, ‘Empire’ is a rallying cry to Blanton’s fellow Americans, asking them to abandon their country’s imperial ways and instead rally around their shared humanity. Between the fuzzy guitar and straight-talking lyrics, Blanton gets to embrace her inner Springsteen here.
Blanton’s voice radiates hope and warmth as she expertly blends jazz, soul, punk, folk, country, rock, pop and Motown throughout After the Revolution. Her hooks and chutzpah won her fans all over Ireland on her Autumn 2023 Irish tour (during which she played solo and supported Declan O’Rourke) and her triumphant Other Voices appearance in December 2023. Blanton has enjoyed ample airplay on Irish radio, particularly on RTÉ Radio 1. After the Revolution single ‘My Good Friends’ alone garnered 1.5 million radio impacts since its release in November 2023. Blanton is in high demand in Ireland, having played live on Newstalk’s Moncrieff and been interviewed on the likes of BBC Radio Ulster, RTÉ Radio 1, and Dundalk FM. She will set off on another Irish tour in celebration of the After the Revolution in April 2024, playing venues in Dundalk, Limerick, Cork, Clonakilty, Galway, Kilkenny, Dublin, and London. Tickets are available at her website, www.carsieblanton.com.
Reflecting on the new record, Blanton says: “If you got in a time machine and went back to 2012, and told me in that in a decade or so I would no longer be able to squeeze out a single song about love or lust, and would instead be writing a whole album about imperialism, revolution and the decline of capitalism, I would’ve guffawed. And then I would’ve probably felt pretty nervous.”
Track List
1. After the Revolution
2. Empire
3. Ain’t We Got Fun
4. Hope
5. Caroline
6. Labour of Love
7. Cool Kids
8. Swimming in the Pool
9. Right in the Middle of It
10. If You Want Me
11. Suddenly the Spring
12. My Good Friends
Carsie Blanton’s new album is a glowing beacon of hope, showing us through poetic lyrics and stirring melodies the beauty of life After the Revolution.
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Photo credit – Bobby Bonsey