With Brockhampton done, Kevin Abstract is ready for a new era. On Wednesday, the musician released the single “Blanket,” a rocky, ominous track that features just a few lyrics with repeating yelps backed by a rocky guitar and drums.
Clocking in at less than 2 minutes long, “Blanket” seems to be the first taste of the new music from a rock album on the way. Abstract recently performed solo shows at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s Masonic Lodge and at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right, where he debuted the tracks on the upcoming record.
A press release says that the debut single “sets the tone for this next phase” of Abstract’s music.
The Abstract and Cole Bat-directed video for “Blanket” follows Abstrac surrounded by his imaginary friends (in the form of furries) as he holds a creepy-looking doll and watches TV news, which alerts viewers of “apocalyptic meteors to plummet earth.” (A person named Lucky Edwards claims responsibility. Perhaps we’ll get a storyline in the coming videos.)
Abstract starts shaking his doll in fear, while the three furries begin to cook a meal, before they all head out into the fields. Abstract is seen with a chainsaw as he dances with the furries as he awaits for the meteors to arrive. By the end, he climbs into a large truck and drives off as the meteors hit Earth and some kids play with VR equipment.
The new track is the first taste of completely solo music from Abstract since dropping Arizona Baby in 2019. Since then, he’s released collaborations with the likes of $not, Ryan Beatty, Easy Life, and Baird. Arizona Baby featured tracks such as “Baby Boy,” “Mississippi,” and “Peach.”
The new music comes about a year after Brockhampton released their final album, The Family, after announcing that they would be going on an “indefinite hiatus” last January.
At the time, Brockhampton said on social media, “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being on this journey with us. We would not be here without our fans. We hope we’ve been able to inspire you as much as you have us these past eight years.”