Shab Ferdowsi, better known as the mastermind behind Blushh, has meticulously, wisely, and marvelously packaged a dose of garage-pop that has the power to touch the hearts of a generation with the debut album R.I.P. Apathy. Blushh is more than just garage-pop or even classic pop-punk due to the intimacy she attaches to each and every single track. That’s what makes Blushh who she really is: a voice for the people—well, the millenials and misfits at least.
The Los Angeles based group Blushh released their first EP in 2017 which led to the rise of the band’s stardom. From playing shows all throughout Southern California and their two west coast tours, to playing SXSW in Austin and Treefort Festival in Boise, the debut record accurately portrays the reason for that fame in the first place.
The album R.I.P. Apathy starts off with “All My Friends,” which was originally released as a single in March. The track starts off with Shab Ferdowsi crying out, “All my friends are leaving me behind, they’re all gonna have a better time. Still at home, stuck in bed, thinking about the words you said.” The heavy paced guitar line directs where the track is routing us, and that’s straight to a pity party that reflects on the loneliness we might feel while being forced at home (which we can all relate to currently, am I right?). We find that exact style embedded into the next few tracks with “What Am I Doing With My Life,” “Too Dark,” and “July”—with shredding power cords and classic punk-rock drum fills that stimulates the overall spirit.
Jumping to the next two tracks “Let It Fly” and “Deal With It,” both loosely tell a narrative of ‘coming-of-age’ themes and that sometimes we have to let things go in order to be at ease in life. The melodies allow the other bandmates to add some fuzzy support in the overall tone in the tracks that help create a sentimental touch. It quickly leads into “Melting” which is crinkled into an emo soulfulness with only Shab softly singing with the accompaniment of the acoustic guitar that’s almost nostalgic of classics like Avril Lavigne in her punk princess love ballads. Following right after are “You Make Me Hate It All” and “Make It Better” that happen to be layered with tart guitar chords and are equally kissed with a bit of reverb—almost forcing us into a frenzy of yelling in the middle street after waking up around 2pm, just because.
We are then led to the finish line in the album with “Hell” as it returns to where it all began—loneliness and despair. With every turn that this album takes, we get candidly stricken with each emotion that a lost soul or confused twenty-something might be wrapped in. This outlook defines the entirety of R.I.P. Apathy and truthfully, we’re stuffed but still begging for more.
You can listen to the full album here:
