Weekly Review #11: Blanco White
Blanco White, a Josh Edwards project, takes inspiration from a Spanish singer of a similar name - but the results are entirely his own.
Background
Blanco White is one of music’s most underrated geniuses. At ten years old, he traveled to Spain and studied under Novo García, and later honed his craft into a 2016 debut release. From there, it’s been smooth sailing, with consistent releases every single year. Let’s dive into a few in this edition of Weekly Review!
Outstanding Track #1: Colder Heavens (Colder Heavens, 2017)
Colder Heavens is, in my mind, a perfect introduction to Blanco White without being too over the top. It features all of his low vocals and pitch-perfect production, and is a great foreshadowing of things to come.
Outstanding Track #2: El Búho (Colder Heavens, 2017)
El Búho is one of the tracks in Blanco’s catalog that makes it clear where he got his influence. The track immediately opens with salsa type riffs and is one of the most fast paced songs on the album. It’s a change up, but it works.
Outstanding Track #3: Green Eyes (Tarifa, 2023)
While its not the Coldplay song of the same name, Green Eyes delivers similar emotions: longing and love. Green Eyes is a more recent bit of work, part of a larger, more recent album.
Album Review: On The Other Side (2020)
On The Other Side is by far Blanco’s most comprehensive work to date. Standing at around 48 minutes, it’s a journey into Blanco’s mind and upbringing. Because his entirety identity surrounds his childhood development and his Spanish influence, the song has very identifiable salsa-flamenco undertones. But on top of that, the content of the songs themselves are amazing. On The Other Side, for example, one of the title tracks, is 3 minutes of pure lyrical gold. The chorus, production, and lyrical depth of that song, along with other hits, make this album a really complete project overall. There are a few middling tracks, but overall, the album can go toe-to-toe with almost any other indie project from the 2010s. A true treat to listen to.
Standout Tracks: On The Other Side, All That Matters, Olalla
Album Score: 8.4/10
Conclusion
Blanco White, as one of music’s most underrated artists, continues to put out project after project with little recognition. I hope we could change that on this week’s edition of Weekly Review.