Tag: shoegaze

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.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

As I’ve frequently mentioned on this site in the past, I’m often multitasking while going through tracks and videos and as a result, I’ve serendipitously stumbled onto things I should have known — if I had the time. Now, I recently stumbled upon “Around and Away” off Berlin, Germany-based shoegaze/post-punk/noise rock trio Life As Art 1927‘s 2015 release, Around and Away EP. And from this single, the trio comprised of Almar David, Marc Bijl and Ariana Zustra specialize in a contemporary take on shoegaze as the band pair layers of shimmering guitars fed through delay and reverb pedals, ethereal vocals, a propulsive motorik-like groove with a subtle amount of electronic bleeps and bloops; in some way the song naturally sound as though it draws from 4AD Records‘ heyday while also placing them firmly within the contemporary shoegaze wave that includes bands like BLACKSTONE RNGERS, Lightfoils and the rest of the Saint Marie Records roster.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Aaron Closson (guitar and vocals), best known as a member of The Hourly Radio and multi-instrumentalist Nolan Thies, best known as a member of N?TIONS, Brooklyn-based shoegaze duo The Blessed Isles specialize in a sound that is heavily indebted to 80s Brit Pop, New Wave and of course, shoegaze; in fact, as you’ll hear on “Caroline,” the first single off the duo’s long-awaited full-length effort Straining Hard Against the Strength of Night, the band’s sound seems to draw from New Order, Slowdive and Cocteau Twins as the duo pairs Closson’s plaintive vocals with shimmering delay pedal fed guitar chords, propulsive boom-bap 808s, and ambient-like synths to craft a swooning and introspective song with an urgently anthemic pulse.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Initially comprised of cousins Jamie Turner (vocals, bass) and Matt Williams (guitar), along with Mike Mutt (organ) and Adrian Macmillan (drums), Perth, Australia-based psych rock quartet The High Learys can trace their origins to when Turner and Williams met Mutt in high school, with the band recruiting Macmillan to finalize the band’s original lineup back in 2011. With the release of a full-length album and a number of singles the Australian psych rock quartet have received praise both across their native Australia and internationally for a sound that had been described as a contemporary take on 60s psych rock, bubblegum pop and large rock that seemed to draw influence from the likes of  The Doors, The Who Sings My Generation-era The Who, The Animals, The Turtles, The Beatles and contemporary acts such as Oasis, The Black Angels, Elephant Stone, Sleepy Sun and others.

In fact, the band quickly became a JOVM mainstay as I wrote about a handful of singles on this site — including “Letters to Alice,” a song comprised of intertwined, twisting and turning guitar and organ chords paired with a propulsive rhythm section and Turner’s  Liam Gallagher-like vocals; “I’m A Fool For You” was their most bubblegum pop-leaning single, which possessed an infectious and sweet melody paired with even sweeter lyrics; and “Clear My Mind,” a single that sounded as though it could have been written, recorded and released sometime during the Summer of Love. Now, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve written about them and in that time the band’s lineup has been shuffled — Macmillan has been replaced by Mitchell J. Benson on drums. And interestingly enough, the band’s latest single “Cabinet” not only marks a change in sonic direction for the band that pushes their 60s-leaning psych rock sound closer to the 21st century and is the first time that the band produced themselves in the studio. Sonically “Cabinet” sounds as though it draws from My Gold Mask and Elephant Stone’s most recent releases, as the band pairs guitars and organ played through distortion and effects pedals, thundering drumming and an anthemic hook. In some way, the song sounds as though it were recorded in an enormous empty room with the instrumentation reverberating off the walls and back down to the musicians and listener.

As the band notes in press notes “‘Cabinet’ explores the insecurities of a young mind. Someone who feels lost in their ways, but at the same time shares the burdens of adolescents with their other half.”  And although the song possesses a trippy feel, at its core is a plaintive heartache that should feel familiar — it should remind the listener of the fact that love is almost always awkward but perhaps even more so when you’re trying to figure yourself out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as the frontwoman in Bay Area-based band King Woman, Kristina Esfandiari‘s solo side project Miserable over the course of two EPs Halloween Dream and Dog Days has developed a reputation for a evocative and wistful brand of moody shoegaze reminiscent of PJ Harvey and others. Her long-awaited full-length debut as Miserable, Uncontrollable was written over the course of a year and is reportedly one of the most emotional and saddest works she’s released to date as the material focuses on a narrator wrestling with her own insecurities, grief and a lingering feel of being controlled by forces and influences larger and more powerful than her. And as a result, the album’s latest single “Violet” is a slow-burning and broodingly atmospheric song that pairs towering and droning power chords and slow, thundering drumming with Esfandiari’s hauntingly siren-like vocals in a song that slowly builds up tension with seemingly no real form of release. But underneath it all is an unresolved and urgent ache.

As Esfandiari explained to the folks at The Fader “I ‘Violet’ with my close friend Evan James (Far Away Places, Grey Zine). ‘Violet’ is about being in the same friend group as someone you’ve had an intense falling out with and how shitty it feels when your friends constantly bring them up. It’s about reminiscing on how beautiful things were and how they’ve faded from your life. How vindictive people can be once you bruise their ego or hurt their heart. How quickly people turn on each other. Beneath all of the pain is longing for a mended friendship.” At some point, many of us have been there and have felt a similar overwhelming heartache and frustration and the song evokes that with an uncanny accuracy.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently comprised of Drew Citron (vocals, guitar) and Scott Rosenthal, the Brooklyn-based band Beverly was initially formed back in 2013 by Citron and Frankie Rose, best known in New York music scene circles as being in the early lineups of Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts, as well as several other projects before releasing material as a solo artist. Now, if you were following this site back in 2014 you may recall coming across  a post on “Planet Birthday,” the third single off the band’s full-length debut Careers was a noisy and propulsive song with swirling and towering feedback and layers of buzzing guitars paired with seductively crooned vocals. Sonically, the song seemed to channel early Dum Dum Girls and The Go-Gos but as though they were covering The Jesus and Mary Chain — but with a loose, boozy feel.

“Contact,” is the latest single form the band’s long-awaited sophomore effort, The Blue Swell, slated for a May 6 release through Kanine Records, and the new effort not only reveals a lineup change but also a decided change in sonic direction as the band pairs shimmering guitar chords, a propulsive and driving rhythm section with gorgeous and ethereal vocals. Sonically, the song sounds as though the band drew from Too True-era Dum Dum Girls, My Gold Mask, garage rock and shoegaze.

The band is the middle of an lengthy tour, which will include several sets at SXSW and an NYC area set at Baby’s All Right. Check tour dates below.

Tour Dates
Mar 15 Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas
Mar 16 Austin, TX – Spider House
Mar 16 Austin, TX – Valhalla
Mar 17 Austin, TX – Container Bar
Mar 17 Austin, TX – El Sapo
Mar 18 Austin, TX – Maggie Mae’s
Mar 19 Dallas, TX – Spillover Fest
Mar 22 Columbia, MO – Rose Music Hall *
Mar 23 Omaha, NE – Milk Run *
Mar 24 Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen *
Mar 25 Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub *
Mar 26 State College, PA – Chronic Town *
May 5 Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right (Record Release Show)
May 7 Rough Trade Record Store, Brooklyn, NY (2pm free instore)
May 10 Amsterdam, NE – De School
May 13 Paris, FR – La Mécanique Ondulatoire
May 16 Manchester, UK – Soup Kitchen +
May 17 Bristol, UK – The Louisiana +
May 18 London, UK – The Victoria Dalston +
June 14 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s %
June 18 Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn %
June 20 Memphis, TN – The Hi-Tone %
June 22 Cincinnati, OH – Northside Yacht Club %

* w/Lazyeyes
+ w/Box of Light
% w/Flowers

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Leslie Sisson (vocals, guitar), best known as a member of The Wooden Birds, Matt Pond PA, Western Keys, Black Lipstick, Black Forest Fire, Tanworth-in-Arden, and Aero Wave, collaborations with The American Analog Set, Windsor for the Derby, Rhythm of Black Lines, RIDE‘s Mark Gardener, Dan Mangan, John Wesley Coleman, Snowden, and Broken Social Scene, as well as a solo artist; Rozie Castoe (bass); and Karen Skloss (drums), a member of Black Forest Fire,  the Austin, TX-based dream pop trio Moving Panoramas can trace their origins to when Sisson had returned to home to Texas to be closer to the members of her previous full-time band The Wooden Birds and her family. Sisson took on a job teaching music at School of Rock where she met Castoe, who was in an ’80s show that Sisson directed. And while this was going on Sisson was subbing on bass in Black Forest Fire with Skloss, who was a longtime friend and former graduate film school student. When each individual member’s various projects broke up, the trio of Sisson, Castoe and Skloss decided to form a band together, based on their mutual love of shoegaze.

The trio has been praised by the likes of NPR, Tom Tom Magazine, Austin Chronicle and others, and as a result they’ve seen a rapidly growing local and national profile for their full-length album One, which possesses a sound that’s indebted to 4AD Records, 90s alt rock and classic shoegaze; in fact, the album’s first single and album title track “One” sounds as though it could have been recording and released in the 80s as the band pairs shimmering guitar chords, a tight groove, propulsive drumming and anthemic hooks with gorgeous harmonies with Sisson’s gorgeous crooning. To my ears the song reminds me quite a bit of The Sundays, The Go-Gos and even contemporary acts like Seapony. The album’s second single “Radar” is a shimmering and slow-burning ballad that employs the use of a gorgeous harmony, and sonically speaking the song sounds as though it draws from 120 Minutes MTV-era alt rock but with a subtly modern sheen. In some way, both songs evoke road trips — the sense of endless possibility and adventure; the regrets and mistakes you’re leaving behind; and the road and horizon rushing past your window . . .

Moving Panoramas will be on a rather extensive tour throughout the Spring which includes several SXSW sets and two NYC area dates. Check out tour dates below.

SXSW SHOWS:
March 13th @ Spider House (Main Patio Stage) – 2908 Fruth St at 9PM
March 13th @ The Volstead – 1500 E 6th St at 1AM
March 14th @ Boat Show on Lady Bird Lake – 208 Barton Springs Rd – 3:30PM
March 15th @  The Sidewinder (Inside Stage) – 715 Red River at 12AM
March 16th @ Hotel Vegas (Patio Stage) – 1500 E 6th St at 2PM
March 16th @ Scratch House (Backyard Stage) – 617 E 7th St at 11PM
March 17th @ El Sapo Cantina – 1900 Manor Rd at 3PM
March 18th @ Maggie Mae’s – 323 E 6th St at 12:45PM
March 18th @ Guacamole Showdown – COLLiDE on Rainey at 3PM
March 18th @ Hotel Vegas Annex – 1504 E 6th St at 6:30PM
March 19th @ Street Legal Guitars (Storefront Stage) – 2200 E 7th St at 3 PM
March 19th @ TOMS Austin – 1401 South Congress at 5PM

Tour Dates:

03/23 – Dallas, TX – Crown & Harp
03/24 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard
03/25 – Springfield, MO – Outlands
03/26 – Kansas City, MO – Replay Lounge
03/27 – Lincoln, NB – Duffy’s
03/28 – Rock Island, IL – Rozz-Tox
03/29 – Madison, WI – Mickey’s
03/30 – Chicago, IL – Tonic Room
03/31 – Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
04/01 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Tiger Room
04/02 – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme
04/04 – Toronto, ON – Silver Dollar
04/05 – Montreal, QC – L’Escogriffe
04/06 – Boston, MA – O’Brien’s Pub
04/07 – New York, NY – Pianos
04/08 – Brooklyn, NY – Union Hall
04/09 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint
04/10 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
04/11 – Asheville, NC – The Mothlight
04/13 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre Roof
04/14 – Atlanta, GA – 529
04/15 – Nashville, TN – TBA
04/21 – Austin, TX – The Scoot Inn – w/ Brass Bed
05/13 – Austin, TX – Barracuda
05/14 – Marfa, TX – Lost Horse
05/15 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
05/16 – Los Angeles, CA – TBA
05/18 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
05/20 – Portland, OR – Kelly’s Olympian
05/21 – Seattle, WA – The Black Lodge
05/22 – Missoula, MO – TBA
05/24 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater *
05/25 – Kansas City, MO – Crossroads *
05/28 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater *
05/29 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall **

* w/ Nada Surf
** w/ Nada Surf, Flaming Lips, Roky Erickson, Lucero, Title Fight, Diiv

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Leeds, UK-based psych rock/shoegaze quartet Chaika have developed a national profile across the UK for an incredibly anthemic, arena rock-friendly version of shoegaze that sounds as though it’s indebted to Oasis, Kasabian and The Verve. And as you’ll hear on the band’s latest single “Quietness,” they eschew familiar and recognizable songwriting structures: the song is divided into three clear sections loosely held together by feedback and effects laden guitar chords paired with a propulsive motorik-like groove with the first section being an anthemic and urgent with slashing guitar chords and punchy vocals that ends with an explosive burst of cacophonous feedback that fades into a slow-burning and swaggering, bluesy psychedelic section propelled forward by four-on-the-floor drumming.

Interestingly, as the band explains in press notes, the song was written as a rumination on the creative process and was written in two sleepless night. The first section of the song focuses on creative inertia and writer’s block as fractured and unfinished thoughts are repeated and revised and repeated  to exceeding frustration and desperation. In fact, the song’s narrator seems to about ready to give up with the whole thing — until the second section section which deals with the sudden and overwhelming breakthrough in which as the band says “time bends for reality to warp and become illusion.” In any case, the song manages to evoke the frustration and joy of the creative process in a way that’s uncanny and familiar — and with power chords and feedback.