Tag: shoegaze

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of frontman Pete Feigenbaum, who has spent some time as a touring guitarist in Titus Andronicus; Max Tucker; Meaghan Omega; Dan Peskin; and John Atkinson, who joins the band as a touring member, the members of Brooklyn-based Dinowalrus have developed a national and international attention for a sound that draws from post-punk, krautrock, shoegaze, synth pop and psych rock as you’ll hear on their latest single “Tides,” which has the band pair shimmering and undulating synths, buzzing guitar chords, plaintive and ethereal vocals and a motorik groove. Interestingly enough, the song sounds as though the band had been listening to Toy, Primal Scream and the Manchester sound.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Jess Labrador (guitars, lead vocals) and Shannon Madden (guitar, backing vocals), the San Francisco-based duo Chasms have developed a reputation for crafting haunting beautiful yet menacing and propulsive dirges that sound as though they were heavily indebted to 4AD Records. And as you’ll hear on “Black Ice,” the latest single off the duo’s much anticipated full-length debut, has the duo pairing Labrador’s ethereal vocals with propulsive and pummeling drum programming, shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts of delay and reverb pedal and brief bursts of dramatic feedback and a sinuous bass line in a chilly and hypnotic, slow-burning song that gently pushes the boundaries of what shoegaze should sound like, while nodding at doom metal and other genres.

As the band’s Jess Labrador explains in press notes “Lyrically, this song most represents the theme of the album. Love has the power to awaken you, to heal you. But it is not all you need. Humans are damaged, imperfect creatures. For as much beauty as love may birth, ugliness is unearthed. You must face yourself.” The song suggests the cliche that you can’t love someone else until you love someone else; but it also suggests that love can make one ambivalent and uncertain because heartache is generally inevitable. 

 
 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dario Torre (vocals and guitar), Giacomo Salzano (bass), Raffaele Bocchetti (guitar), and Davide Fusco (drums), Italian psych rock quartet Stella Diana have gradually developed a national and international reputation for a sound that draws from Catherine Wheel, RIDE, Joy Division, Psychedelic Furs, The Chameleons, Pale Saints, Lush, The Stone Roses, Talk Talk and others; in other words, it’s a sound that possesses familiar elements of shoegaze, post-punk, dream pop and new wave — with lyrics sung primarily in their native Italian. And as a result, the quartet have been considered the forefront of a purely Italian version of shoegaze which the Italian press have considered an unprecedented achievement.

Adding to a growing international profile, their single “41 61 93” was not only released to critical acclaim, it was included on the Revolution — The Shoegaze Revival compilation, a compilation that was touted by Creation Records‘ Joe Foster as an unprecedented collection of the best contemporary crop of shoegazers across the world. They were also commissioned by Brazil’s TBTCI Records to cover RIDE’s “Leave Them All Behind” for a RIDE tribute album and recorded a track for Seashell Records‘ Slowdive tribute album Souvlaki Reheated.

Now if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d know that last year I wrote about “Shohet,” the densely layered, lush, shimmering and anthemic RIDE and  My Vitriol channeling first single off their 2015 Alhena EP, which was released through Vipchoyo Sound Factory Records. The band released their latest effort Nitrocris earlier this year and the album’s latest single “Sulphur” reveals a band that’s gone through a change in sonic direction and approach as the quartet employs the use of swirling and shimmering guitar chords paired with a gentle yet propulsive rhythm section and ethereal vocals gently floating over the mix to create a hauntingly dreamy song that possess a bracing chill just underneath its surface while remaining (subtly) anthemic.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Woozy and Trippy Visuals and Sounds of Amber Arcades’ “Turning Light”

According to de Graaf, “Turning Light,” Fading Lines’ latest single is about time, continuity and the magic in that; about being the protagonist in your own story while simultaneously being a supporting player in the lives of everyone around you and about how those roles and lines intertwine.” And as the Dutch singer/songwriter and musician explains the recently released video “captures these sentiments in a continuing movement (a.k.a. the most basic dance I could think of – and probably the only one I am capable of” and it continues throughout the video uninterrupted while locations, perspectives and even boundaries between moments fade and seem to collide into each other.

Sonically speaking, de Graaf and her backing band pair rapid fire, four-on-the-floor drumming, swirling and shimmering strings, twinkling electronics, a driving bass line and de Graaf’s ethereal vocals singing lyrics that reflect the relativistic nature of time and as a result, the woozy single manages to sound as though it draws from shoegaze and Brit pop equally.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Psychedelic Sounds and Visuals of Teenage Ghost’s “Apocalypse Times”

Comprised of Brendan O’Connor (vocals, guitar) , Michael Theis (bass) and Chris Wahlfeldt (drums), shoegaze/drone rock act Teenage Ghosts’ latest effort, the 5 track EP Revelations can trace its origins to when during a chance visit to the States, O’Connor took the opportunity to record some new material with Thies. After the guitar parts were recorded, Wahlfeldt recorded drums parts in Champaign, IL — while vocals and synths were recorded in NYC. The EP’s slow-burning first single “Apocalypse Times” features ethereal synths and vocals bubble up and float over a thick and murky mix consisting of layers upon layers of guitars and a persistent rhythm section in a song that walks a careful tightrope between the gorgeous shoegaze of the likes of Ride, Slowdive and The Verve and the moody drone of Directions to See a Ghost-era The Black Angels and the Silber Media roster.

The recently released animated music video is appropriately psychedelic and consists of frequently moving and morphing geometric shapes that are meant to evoke interstellar travel and traveling at the subatomic level — and it does so in a mind-altering fashion.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Bert Cannaerts (vocals/guitar), Giel Torfs (guitar/backing vocals), Philippe Corthout (guitar), Robby Geybels (bass) and Stef Gouwkens (drums), Newmoon are an Antwerp and Ghent, Belgium-based indie rock quintet derive their name from an Elliot Smith album, and although they formed in 2013, they can trace their origins to the breakup of locally renowned hardcore punk band Midnight Souls. Certainly, for anyone who may have been familiar with their previous project, Newmoon may superficially appear to be sonic change in direction, a proverbial left turn — despite the fact that reportedly, the band’s influences have almost always been the same: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Slowdive, Ramones, Oasis, and Sunn o))).

Their debut EP was released Touché Amoré’s label Secret Voice/Deathwish Inc. and the reconvened and rebranded quintet quickly built up a profile across the European Union as they’ve toured with the likes of Touché Amoré, Basement, Nothing and Cloakroom, and others. Building upon the buzz they’ve received, the band will be releasing their anticipated full-length debut as Newmoon, Space in October through PIAS Records. And the album’s first single “Head of Stone,” which was written while the band was on a bullet train between Tokyo and Kyoto and is primarily about the feeling of being lost and alone when you confront an impenetrable language barrier — the sort in which you don’t speak or understand a word of that country’s language and the people around you don’t speak your language. As the band’s Bert Cannaerts explains in press notes, “I realised that there’s something very frightening about being in a place where you are unable to connect to people in any way. You cannot understand the language they are speaking; you can’t understand any visual cues. This can make you feel isolated and invisible. The same thing can happen with emotional relationships. They get to a point where people become unable to communicate, and emotions and nuances are lost. This leads to isolation and resentment and people go their separate ways.”

As for the song you’ll hear propulsive, four-on-the-floor drumming, layers upon layers of gently buzzing power chords and anthemic hooks with ethereal vocals bubbling over an enveloping and dreamy sound and to my ears, I’m reminded of My Vitriol‘s Finelines, A Storm in Heaven and A Northern Soul-era The Verve and others — but with a subtly expansive song structure as the song possesses an explosive introduction,  the previously mentioned anthemic hook and a towering bridge with a mind-altering guitar solo.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their previous singles “Patterns” and “Kitsune,” South Devon, UK-based shoegaze/indie rock duo Matthew and Me, comprised of Matthew Board (vocals, guitar) and Lucy Fawcett (drums) hve developed a reputation across the UK for a sound that draws from the delicate soundscapes of Sigur Ros, Mogwai and others; in fact, received airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, XFM — and as a result, they’ve played some of Britain’s largest festivals including Field Day, Somersault, Port Eliot, and Glastonbury.

The duo’s latest single “Joy” is a slow-burning and expansive song that begins with a lengthy yet delicate and hazy introduction in which Board’s aching falsetto is paired with shimmering and swirling guitar chords and gently padded drumming in a hauntingly gorgeous arrangement that reveals a deliberate and deeply conscientious nature — with each individual note feeling as though it were a painter’s brushstroke adding color and texture to the entire soundscape before concluding with a thundering cacophony (that peters out into a slow fade out). While sonically bearing a resemblance to Sigur Ros and A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve, the song manages to posses an aching and woozy spiritual yearning for something much larger at its core.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past month or so, you would have come across a couple of posts on Los Angeles, CA-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stefan Weich. Weich specializes in a dreamy exploration of traditional music structures, alternate guitar tunings and analog synthesizers and has released music under a number of monikers, including Das Bowls, Chicle, Couch Baby and others; however, his latest effort, Granite Prism is Weich’s (true) solo debut and first album under his own name. Thematically, the album explores the Los Angeles-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s feelings of loneliness, aimlessness and his search for love and acceptance in a large, modern metropolis.

With Granite Prism‘s first single and video “Holy Nights,” Weich paired his plaintive falsetto croon with dreamily ambient synths, soft padded drumming and gently strummed guitar in a deliberate and carefully crafted song that sounded indebted to Brian Eno –but with a plaintive yearning at its core. The album’s second single “Louie,” continued on the same vein as Weich paired swirling and ambient electronics are paired with soft padded drumming, bursts of bluesy guitar chords and his plaintive falsetto crooning lyrics about a relationship in which both people are slowly drifting apart.  At the heart of the song is the unspoken and built up resentments that can cause people to slowly drift apart over time, and a lingering sense of regret of what happened — and how it happened.

Granite Prism‘s third and latest single “Toxic Landscape” is a subtly more muscular song and as a result it sounds as though it owes a sonic debt to shoegaze than ambient electronica as Weich pairs his plaintive falsetto with feedback-laden and buzzing power chords, strummed guitar chords played through layers of reverb, subtly forceful drumming and soaring synths in a song that to my ears reminds me quite a bit of A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and Silversun Pickups. Much like the previously released singles, the song focuses on the slow dissolution of a relationship and its aftermath, complete with the feelings of bitterness, isolation, confusion, heartache and more — and in a way that’s reminiscent of 120 Minutes-era MTV indie rock.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Creepy and Dread-Filled Visuals for Bloody Knives’ “Poison Halo”

  Initially comprised of Preston Maddox (bass, vocals, keyboards, samples and programming) Jake McCown (drums, noise, programming) with recent recruits Jack O’Hara Harris (guitar), Richard Napierkowski (synth) and Martin McCreadie (synth) joining to flesh out […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of months, you may recall coming across a post on Austin, TX-based shoegaze act Bloody Knives. Initially comprised of Preston Maddox (bass, vocals, keyboards, samples and programming) Jake McCown (drums, noise, programming) — and now feating the featuring the contributions of recent recruits Jack O’Hara Harris (guitar), Richard Napierkowski (synth) and Martin McCreadie (synth) as touring members of the band, the Austin-based act have developed a profile both locally and regionally for a sound that meshes elements of punk, industrial electronica and ambient electronica with 8 bit glitches, bloops and bleeps — and much like My Bloody Valentine, A Place to Bury Strangers, The Jesus and Mary Chain their sound and aesthetic frequently possesses a sublime and dreamy beauty underneath a bleak, punishing forcefulness.

I Will Cut Your Heart Out For This, Bloody Knives’ latest effort was released last week through renowned shoegaze label Saint Marie Records, and the album was reportedly inspired by the “forgotten places, the dark corners of empty cities, decaying buildings filled with vacant people” — the world of the lost and broken.” And although the album’s second and latest single “Static” beings with soaring synths and buzzing electronics, much like previous single “Poison Halo,” the latest single pairs scorching guitar chords played with towering layers of feedback, a throbbing bass line and thundering drumming. While both the album’s first two singles insistently push the boundaries of contemporary shoegaze towards darker and much more forceful territory, their overall sound reminds me a bit of My Vitriol as the material possesses an anthemic quality that belies its swooning and urgent nature.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Nimal Agalwatte, Chrissy Hurn, and Brandon Munroe, Hamilton, Ontario-based indie rock trio Basement Revolver can trace its origins to when childhood friends Agwalwatte and Hurn were eight  or so — and as Hurn admitted to me via email we “even dated for a brief two months in High School.” Agalwatte and Munroe met while studying music in college, and the recently formed trio quickly started writing songs and working on a debut EP, which is currently slated for a July release. “Johnny,” the trio’s debut single is a shimmering and introspective bit of shoegaze with swirling  guitar chords and dramatic drumming that Hurn describes as ” . . my attempt to rationalize difficulties with my past partner and all the heartache and angst that comes from having a really bad time.” And as a result, the song possesses a plaintive ache and lingering ambivalence towards both the relationship and the person that should feel familiar to anyone who’s suffered through a difficult breakup.

Sonically speaking, the song is reminiscent of 120 Minutes MTV-era alternative rock — in particular, I’m reminded of The Cranberries‘ “Linger,” Mazzy Star and others as it possesses a similar wistfulness and heartache.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Chuck Cleaver (vocals, guitar), Lisa Walker (vocals, guitar), Mark Messerly (bass, keys), John Erhardt (pedal steel, guitar), and Joe Klug (drums), Cincinnati, OH-based shoegaze quintet Wussy can trace their origins to when the band’s founding members and primary songwriters Chuck Cleaver, formerly of Ass Ponys and Lisa Walker began to perform together on what was supposed to be a brief run of solo shows for Cleaver back in 2001. The first show Cleaver and Walker played together was largely unplanned and went without incident, so they agreed to continue and expand the band. The band’s first drummer Dawn Burman and Meserly were recruited and joined the band in 2002 and the quartet released three full-length efforts and an EP that received praise from a number of media outlets including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Village Voice, NPR, The Washington Post, Uncut and the legendary Robert Christgau, who placed the Cincinnati quintet’s first two efforts Funeral Dress and Left for Dead on his best of the decade list and their third, self-titled release on his best of 2009 list.

After quickly achieving critical success, the band went through a lineup change as Burman left and was replaced with Cincinnati music scene vet, Joe Klug with whom the recorded Attica! and their sixth and most recent effort, Forever Sounds, which was released last month through Shake It/Damnably Records. The quintet recently released subtly shoegazey cover of Joy Division/New Order‘s “Ceremony” which retains the spirit of the original while adding layers upon layers of reverb drenched guitars with the boy/girl harmonies of Cleaver and Walker throughout. Interestingly, Cleaver and Walker’s harmonies bring the swooning Romantic urgency of the song out into the forefront. But perhaps more important, it’s a reminder of how a timeless song can reverberate a generation or two after its initial release.

Check out how the Wussy cover compares to the Joy Division original below.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past few months, starting around the end of last year, you may recall coming across a couple of posts about Liverpool-based shoegaze quintet The Vryll Society. Comprised of Michael Ellis, Ryan Ellis, Lewis McGuinness, Lloyd Shearer, and Benjamin Robinson, the band was discovered by Alan Willis, the late founder of Deltasonic Records, who noticed potential in the band and guided the quintet through their development as a band and as songwriters. Over the course of the following year, the British shoegaze quintet locked themselves away in their rehearsal space, where they jammed and began writing material that was inspired by Funkadelic, Aphrodite’s Child, krautrock and classic shoegaze.

“Coshh,” the second single off the band’s debut EP Pangea had the Liverpool-based quintet pairing a tight, motorik groove consisting of a wobbling bass line and propulsive four-on-the-floor-like drumming, shimmering guitar chords played through layers of reverb and effects pedals, atmospheric electronics, falsetto vocals, anthemic hooks and a cosmic sheen. “Self-Realization,” Pangea‘s third single further cemented the quintet’s growing reputation for shimmering and anthemic shoegaze in an expansive and sprawling song that nodded at  The Verve, as the song structurally twisted, turned and bent at weird and unpredictable angles — with guitar work that also subtly nodded at Nick McCabe’s expansive and expressive sound.

Interestingly, “La Jette,” The Vryll Society’s latest single is a dreamier and ethereal single that hints at the contemporary obsession with the sound of 60s psych rock that sounds as though it draws from the likes of Elephant Stone, Sleepy Sun and others; in other words, shimmering and jangling guitar chords, ethereal vocals and a strutting bass line are paired together in the Liverpool-based quintet’s trippiest, most subdued  and most introspective song to date.