Today Sebastian Blanck releases his haunting yet uplifting folk-pop album, Alibi Coast, on Rare Book Room Records. He is celebrating the occasion by sharing live footage of a performance of opening track, “I Blame Baltimore” at Rare Book Room Studio. The song shows off Sebastian’s distinct and highly expressive vocal tone as well as the wistful, pastoral arrangements that make the record such an engaging listen. If you haven’t yet seen the dreamy video for “I Blame Baltimore,” which Stereogum calls “gorgeous,” you can see it HERE. Sebastian also has three New York shows coming up, including a date opening for Acrylics.
CD/VINYL is available in independent record stores (if they don't have it, please ask them to order it) and in our webstore. Digital is available at Amazon.com, emusic, and iTunes.
Stereogum gets with the (space) program and hosts the brand-new video for Sebastian Blanck's "I Blame Baltimore," the first song from his debut album, Alibi Coast, coming at the end of June. Directed with love and extraordinary skill by Ben Syverson.
Although Sebastian was an early member of Black Dice (more than ten years ago!), Alibi Coast more resembles the timeless, poeticized folk-pop of Simon & Garfunkel, and in fact has far more in common with his paintings, brilliantly layered works that capture evocative scenes in motion.
Alibi Coast, which puts Sebastian’s gentle guitar work and gorgeous vocals in the spotlight (and which also features contributions from Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, Lia Ices, Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Olivia Mori), traces not one narrative arc but several, centering on the events of 2007, when Sebastian lost his brother Toby in a drowning accident.
The songs on Alibi Coast came to life with the help of co-producer Jorge Elbrecht (of Violens and Lansing-Dreiden) and were completed with Nicolas Vernhes at the Rare Book Room Studio in 2009 and 2010.
The album, whose cover features a painting by Sebastian’s wife, Isca Greenfield-Sanders (daughter of the photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders), marks the emergence of a striking new talent — just one listen and you’ll agree.
Banjo Or Freakout "S/T" rbr007
Banjo Or Freakout Single "105 b/w Dead in the Snow" rbr007s
Sebastian Blanck "Alibi Coast" rbr006
Talk Normal "Sugarland" rbr005
Palms "Boundary Waters Remixed" rbr004
Lia Ices "Necima" rbr003
Palms "It's Midnight In Honolulu" rbr002
V/A "Living Bridge" rbr001