“Resection” is a collection of music that documents Blanc’s journey with chronic pain over the past four years and how it has impacted them as an artist and as a person. The songs featured on this EP were written while recovering from several major surgeries, which kickstarted their singing and songwriting journey over the last few years. Most of the songs were originally written on a looper pedal, using stacked layers of Blanc's voice as the backing. These songs have been an incredibly important part of Blanc’s ongoing recovery process, and they hope the themes in their music will resonate with a larger audience and foster a community of people who have gone through similar situations.
Read more about the individual tracks below!
“Resection” begins the heartfelt story of this EP with a bang. This song is an angsty, funky song that Blanc wrote right before one of the major surgeries they had as part of this process, almost like a breakup song with the piece of their body that was getting removed. It features tight stacked vocals, punchy horn lines, and a funky breakdown that will get anybody dancing.
This song tells the next piece of this story of recovery, specifically about the phase of waiting and frustration. Blanc wrote this song while in recovery from one of the surgeries they had as an angry message to their doctor, but also as an exploration of the feelings of isolation and helplessness they were having during that time. “In My Mind” explores the feeling of being stuck in your own head while in recovery through its distinct guitar melody, layered vocal lines, and contemplative solo saxophone outro.
As the first instrumental track on this EP, “For the Sake of Time” provides a needed tone shift in the story of the record. Its warm, triumphant chord changes and intricate rhythms send a message of resilience and persistence through this journey of recovery. The song continues to evolve as it goes, never repeating a section, much like how recovery is never a straight line. The song ends with samples of real machines from Blanc’s time in the hospital after their surgeries.
“Dying To” is the emotional valley of the story of this EP, represented through its stripped back instrumentation of just acoustic guitar and voice. The song is about all the things that you wish you could do when you are in recovery from something, but are not ready to do just yet. It also explores feeling left behind by the people around you as they continue their lives doing what you wish you could do.
This song has taken many forms since it was originally written, but Blanc decided to go with this powerful, funky arrangement of it for this album. This song was composed right before Blanc had their first major surgery as a part of this process and represents the creative peak that they felt in that period of time. The title comes from Mount Greylock, the tallest mountain in Massachusetts, as well as Greylock Street, where Blanc played a very impactful show around the time of composing this piece. That show ended up being one of the last times they performed before having surgery and being unable to play their instrument for many months afterwards.
As the final track on this EP, “Clear” culminates the themes of the entire EP. This song is about how recovery is never a straight line and the future is never as "clear" as it seems. It was one of the first songs that Blanc wrote as a part of this process, and sparked the idea for this entire project. Its message of acceptance and moving forward with your life in spite of continued pain and recovery is something that Blanc hopes will stick with the listeners of this EP, and something that they are still trying to learn themselves.