The Blankket is Steve Kado. Steve Kado is the Blankket. Simple enough. Thankfully his music is not so simple. Pegatively Nositive is Kado’s nod to philosopher, social critic, and pop culturist Theodor Adorno. As I think back to my university days where Adorno’s theories were hammered into my head, I barely understood it then and I sure as hell don’t get it now.
Blending futuristic sounds from the past, Pegatively Nositive is the 50^th release for Blocks Recording Club, the Toronto based label Kado helped found several years ago. The six tracks of electro dirge opens with “2003”, a pulse of sound reminiscent of late night Brave New Waves. At almost 8 ½ minutes, it seems too short. “No Rainbows” proceeds to clear the dance floor of the uninitiated, leaving the disciples to shake their booty unfettered. “Failure Is Our Game” is the reward for sticking it out. Minimalist and complex all together, the group shout-outs tell it like it is, “there’s never been such a thing as failure without shame”. “Independence Is No Solution” gives babies a good name. Kado explains that “babies only want to dance”. He’s on to something here.
“The End” is actually not the end, just a seven second wake up call for the true end, “Wrong Life”. The Blankket’s final electro torch song is dub-centric with noise manipulation and sweet harmonies. If a song begs to be made into a video, this is it. Clocking at over ten minutes, “Wrong Life” grinds the evening down to a gradual halt as the batteries slowly drain on the old boom box that’s holding this jam together.
Frankly speaking, I have no clue how this all ties in with Adorno. Maybe that’s a question better posed to Steve Kado and The Blankket.

By Christopher Veit
Apr 1, 2009