Blueprint Blue bring breezy summer vibes on ‘Tourist’

South Londoners Blueprint Blue have been a little quiet of late. Since the release of last year’s ‘Flying Machine’ EP back in March, the quartet have been holed up in the studio working on their forthcoming debut and now they’ve gifted us ‘Tourist’ - the first taster of it.

A breezy summer jam that blends Belle and Sebastian-esque sweetness with a blue-eyed soul undercurrent, it’s an understated gem with a tendency to veer off in unexpected, woozy directions. Produced by Younghusband’s Euan Hinshelwood and featuring an Unknown Mortal Orchestra-recalling fancy pants pedal built for them by The Horrors’ Josh Hayward (BB bassist Huw Webb is also fellow Horror Rhys’ little bro), you can see the circles that Blueprint Blue revolve in. But rather than heading down the heavy psych rabbit hole, this lot are aiming for something altogether lighter.

“The new material is influenced by keyboard pop and soul music like Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan,” explain the band. “‘Tourist’ is far more collaborative than our previous music. It required a lot more effort and time to complete. This also laid out the blueprint (har har) for how we worked on the rest of the album.”

Listen to the track below.