blink. released their first studio album, entitled
The Epidemic of Ideas, on August 26, 2008. The album was the sixth most played jazz album on
KSPC for the week of October 27, 2008, and the eighth most played on
CFRU-FM for the week of October 7, 2008.
The Epidemic Of Ideas received the tenth most airplay of any jazz album on
CJSW for the week ending October 6, 2008. The album received positive reviews from music critics. Manny Theiner of the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gave the album a "Very good" 3.5/4 rating, and commented: "
The Epidemic of Ideas is an appropriate title for Blink's debut CD, as the exploration of forms, textures and motifs is almost never-ending. Successful tracks range from jazz-funk-rock 'Secret Weapon Part I', where guitarist Dave Miller blisters the
fretboard Marc Ribot-style, to the glitchy, laptoppy electronics permeating 'Sources', from the off-kilter, odd-timed Miller guitar runs and Quin Kircher's percussion clatter on 'Displacement', to the comparatively meditative,
gamelan-like feel of 'Glass'."
AllMusic wrote in their review: "[The album] contains rather provocative investigations of vanguard jazz as it interacts with electronics, mutant funk, and even post-rock. Greene's compositions are rooted in space and edgy drama, and have wide-open spaces for various kinds of improvisations; rarely does one player occupy the solo space without another (or even two) engaging him directly." and
The Phoenix's John Garelick, who gave the album a 3/4 rating and said, "Aside from the general aggressive, post-rock, post-jazz underground feel, there’s pretty tunes here, lots of slow, quiet parts, bebop flow, and even some walking bass. Another way to hear jazz."
DownBeat magazine gave the album a four-star review in its January 2009 issue. ==References==