Tag: shoegaze

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Darkly Surreal Visuals and Shimmering Shoegazer Rock of Dead Leaf Echo’s “Lemonheart”

“Lemonheart,” will further cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting lush and shimmering shoegazer-like dream pop in the vein of RIDE, Swervedriver and Slowdive — or in other words, layers upon layers of shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts of reverb, a propulsive motorik-like groove paired with ethereal and wistful vocals.

The recently released video for “Lemonheart” employs a surreal and nightmarish logic as it features a beautiful young woman selling lemonade at a child’s lemonade stand, cutting lemons for lemonade, and occasionally sucking on a lemon when she encounters a man dressed as a lemon mascot, who’s devastated upon seeing the carnage inflicted on his fellow lemons. Running away, he encounters a female lemon who captures his attention and they return to get revenge on our lemonade stand girl.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dreamy and Hypnotic Sounds and Visuals of Magnetic Ghost’s “Vanish/Vanishing”

Larson’s forthcoming Magnetic Ghost album, Loss Molecules was recorded with renowned indie rock producer Neil Weir at Blue Bell Knoll and by Larson at Magnetic Manson and the effort is slated for a November 18, 2016 release. “Vanish/Vanishing,” Loss Molecules’ latest single has Larson pairing layers of plaintive and ethereal vocals with moody and hypnotic instrumentation consisting of layers of droning and shimmering guitars, a propulsive bass line and stuttering drumming. Sonically speaking, the song reminds me quite a bit of the Silber Records roster.

The recently released video for the song features cinematic and widescreen shot footage of natural phenomenon — i.e., the sun rising in the horizon from the distance, as cars whir past, wind blowing through fields of grain, ice floes in the Arctic, smoke billowing from smokestacks, and so on. It looks like the sort of footage you’d stumble across while watching National Geographic specials — and as a result, it emphasizes the slow-burning, dreamy feel of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Psychedelic Imagery for Toy’s “I’m Still Believing”

As you’ll hear on “I’m Still Believing,” Clear Shot’s second and latest single, the band’s sound has began to lean more towards lush, guitar pop territory as layers of shimmering and jangling acoustic guitar chords (with gentle amounts of reverb) are paired with soaring synths, an anthemic hook and Tom Dougall’s introspective lyrics, all while nodding at Nick Drakeand Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd.

The recently released music video employs a pretty basic concept of having the extremely British looking band performing the song in a variety of strobe lights and Super 8-like filters, sequences of the individual band members broodingly hanging out, brief bursts of animation and Japanese commercials and it gives the entire proceeding a trippy vibe reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s The Wall but with a playful air.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this year, I wrote about Kestrels, a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based indie rock/noise rock trio comprised of  Chad Peck (guitar/vocals), Devin Peck (bass) and Paul Brown (drums). And with the 2014 release of The Moon Is Shining Our Way EP, the Canadian indie rock trio emerged both nationally and internationally as the EP’s title track received radio airplay on CBC Radio 3  and as a result of touring with internationally renowned acts including Speedy Ortiz, Ringo Deathstarr, Beliefs, Grays and Ash. Reportedly, the sessions that produced The Moon Is Shining Our Way laid the groundwork for the songwriting approach and sound the band would then take into the studio for their self-titled, third full-length effort, slated for a September 30, 2016 release through Hamilton, Ontario-based label Sonic Unyon.

The album’s first single “No Alternative” was a decidedly pedal effects-led power chord- are paired with thundering and propulsive drumming, a tight bass line, an anthemic hook you can hear kids shouting along to in a sweaty club and Chad Peck’s plaintive falsetto as the song reminded me quite a bit of Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups, My Vitriol and others, complete with a swooning urgency. The album’s latest single “Waiting” sounds as though it owes a sonic debt to Brit Pop and shoegaze; in fact, to my ears, I’m reminded quite a bit of RIDE, as a motorik-like groove is paired with psych rock-leaning guitar chords, propulsive drumming, ethereal vocals and an anthemic hook.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

Born in California, New York-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Shana Falana spent time in San Francisco‘s D.I.Y. scene and and in a Bulgarian women’s choir before relocating to New York. By 2006, Falana had been struggling through drug addiction and money woes when she lost part of her index finger in a work-related accident. And while under most normal circumstances that might be considered extremely unlucky, the settlement money the California-born, New York-based singer/songwriter received actually provided her a period of financial stability that allowed her the much needed time and space she needed to overcome her addictions and find a new focus in her life and music. Reportedly, much of the music on Falana’s much-anticipated second full-length effort Here Comes the Wave was conceptualized both during one of the most difficult periods of her life and in the subsequent years that followed, and has been continually refined — and as a result, the album manages to thematically be centered around the duality of “then and now,” while sonically covering diverse moods and possessing elements of shoegaze, gothic pop and indie rock.  Of course, thematically speaking the material focuses on change, transformation and emotional turmoil; in fact as Falana says in press notes ““Somehow, I knew those songs would serve me well later,” and at least one of Here Comes the Wave‘s songs reportedly foreshadows its creator’s eventual sobriety while other songs reportedly accept the passing of youth, the death of her father and other themes that come up as one gets older.

Interestingly, Here Comes the Wave also manages to be the second collaboration with producer D. James Goodwin, best known for his work with Bob Weir, Whitney and Kevin Morby and with her long-time partner, collaborator and drummer Mike Amari. And the album has Goodwin and Amari playing much larger roles than on Falana’s debut as the collaborative trio went for audacious sounds and heightened moments — and for being bold as possible.  The album’s first single “Lie 2 Me” has Falana and Amari pairing enormous and buzzing power chord-heavy riffs and thunderous drumming with Falana’s anguished howls before ending with an explosive blast of feedback before slowly fading out. Lyrically, the song is full of bitter recrimination, accusation, self-doubt, self-flagellation and dysfunction –and as a result, the song feels bilious and fucked up while sonically nodding at L7, PJ Harvey and others.

 

 

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of their 2012 self-titled debut and its follow-up 2013’s Join The Dots, London, UK-based shoegaze/indie rock quintet TOY — comprised of Tom Dougall (vocals, guitar), Dominic O’Dair (guitar), Maxim Barron (bass,   vocals), Max Claps (synths, modulations) and Charlie Salvidge (drums, vocals) — have developed a reputation as being one of the UK’s best alt rock/indie rock acts, as well as being on the forefront of a contemporary shoegaze resurgence.

The British quintet’s forthcoming and highly-anticipated, third, full-length effort Clear Shot is slated for an October 28, 2016 release through Heavenly Recordings, and the material reportedly draws from an esoteric blend of influences including Radiophonic Workshop, Comus, the film scores of Bernard Herrmann, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, COUM, Acid House, The Incredible String Band, The Langley Schools Project, The Wicker Man soundtrack and Rob Young’s Electric Eden, a book about the development of folk music in the U.K. And as you’ll hear on “I’m Still Believing,” Clear Shot‘s second and latest single, the band’s sound has began to lean more towards lush, guitar pop territory as layers of shimmering and jangling acoustic guitar chords (with gentle amounts of reverb) are paired with soaring synths, an anthemic hook and Tom Dougall’s introspective lyrics, all while nodding at Nick Drake and Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd.

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Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeously Cinematic Visuals for Living Hour’s “Seagull”

As you’ll hear on “Seagull,” the first single off the band’s full-length debut released earlier this year, the band’s overall sound manages to possess elements of shoegaze, dream pop and chillwave as shimmering and jangling guitar pop, swirling synths, ethereal vocals are paired together to craft a stunningly gorgeous and dramatic sound; in fact, the song reminds me quite a bit of the sort of guitar rock you’d hear while watching 120 Minutes-era MTV — in particular think of Mazzy Star‘s “Fade Into You” and The Cranberries “Linger.” Or in other words, it’s the sort of song that sounds as though it would be the soundtrack of an intense and fervent make out session — or a dramatic and bitter breakup.

Directed and edited by Nicholas Taylor, the recently released music video for “Seagull,” is a gorgeous and cinematically shot video that captures a day in a life of a teenaged girl and her family as they eat dinner, go to soccer practice and the rest of the banal and mundane aspects of life — but just underneath the surface, there’s something off: the mother of the trio seems moodily distracted, as though still recovering from a massive and inconsolable loss while the girls seem to be desperate to try to move on as best as they could.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this summer, I wrote about Melbourne, Australia-based indie rock/shoegaze act Flyying Colours and if you were frequenting this site then, you may recall that the the Australian band was initially formed by its founding duo, childhood friends Brodie J. Brummer and Genna O’Connor. And with the release of their first two critically applauded EPs, the act received national attention for a sound that possess elements of shoegaze, psych rock and grunge. After recruiting new members Melanie Barbaro and Andy Lloyd Russell to flesh out their sound, the members of the newly constituted quartet went into the studio to write and record the material that would eventually comprise their forthcoming full-length debut, MINDFULLNESS, which is slated for a September 23, 2016 release through Club AC30 Records.  

Over the past year or so, the Australian shoegazers have seen a growing international profile as “Not Today” and “Running Late” off their second EP ROYGBIV received airplay from several renowned radio stations across the globe including KEXP, BBC Radio 6, RRR and FBi among others, and as a result, they landed at number 47 on the CMJ Radio Top 200 and Amazing Radio charts,  as well as praise from the likes of Clash, 405, Stereogum, Wonderland and NME. And adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Flyying Colours has toured with Pinkshinyultrablast, Johnny Marr, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and  A Place to Bury Strangers.

Whereas MINDFULLNESS‘ first single “It’s Tomorrow Now” was a noisy and towering squalor sound that had the Melbourne, Australia-based quartet pairing buzzing power chords, some incredible guitar pyrotechnics, a propulsive motorik groove and an anthemic hook in a song that sounds as though it were channeling The Jesus and Mary Chain, the album’s latest single “Long Holiday” is a hazily, expansive song in which shimmering guitar chords played through reverb, delay and other effect pedals are paired with a propulsive rhythm section and a rousingly anthemic hook while sonically sounding as though it were indebted to RIDE, A Storm in Heaven The Verve and The Smiths.

 

 

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.