Category: Shoegaze

Top 30 Albums of 2018: #’s 5 – 1

We’ve reached the top.  Here are my five favorite albums of 2018.

#5: CHAI – Pink – These Japanese ladies are not only challenging your concepts of attractiveness and what is or isn’t “cute” by being fiercely DIY, they’re also challenging anyone who dares to try rocking as hard as they.

#4: Miss Red – K.O. – This is a dangerous and sexy dancehall record featuring fast, stunning vocals by Miss Red and powerhouse beats by the Bug.  They’re the best tag team since the British Bulldogs.

#3: Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing – “What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?” is how this band was described by their label.  I can’t describe it better than that.  It’s full of dark beats, heavy bass, and African rhythms.  You can’t miss.

#2: BODEGA – Endless Scroll – Easily my favorite post-punk record of the year and one of the best records reflecting life in 2018.  It skewers hipsters, relationships, partying, and technology and is even heartbreaking a couple times.

#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned – Any record by APTBS is going to be among my top picks of the year, and I knew as soon as I heard the interesting direction they took with the addition of Lia Braswell on drums and vocals that anyone trying to dislodge this record from my #1 spot would have to bring its A-game (as APTBS does at every live show).  It’s dark, loud, creepy, and sinks deep into your brain when you hear it.

Thanks for all the views in 2018.  A lot of good records are already slated for 2019: The Night Beats, the Chemical Brothers, the KVB, and (let’s hope) the Chromatics just to name a few.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 Albums of 2018: #’s 20 – 16

We’ve reached the top 20!

#20: Diagonal – Tomorrow – My wife doesn’t really like shoegaze music. She just doesn’t get it. This record, however, made her say she might grow to like shoegaze. I can’t write a better recap than that.

#19: Blackwater Holylight (self-titled) – This debut from these dark psych rockers has sexy goth touches, doom riffs, and psychedelic flair that made it high on my list this year.

#18: Neko Case – Hell-On – Case’s latest is another beautiful record of masterful songwriting, sometimes heartbreaking lyrics, and plenty of folk, Americana, and outlaw touches.

#17: Shopping – The Official Body – This post-punk fun-fest is poppy, peppy, and punky. It’s fun from beginning to end.

#16: Terminal Mind – Recordings – Speaking of punk, this reissue of rare material from Austin, Texas punk legends Terminal Mind was a great time capsule from the Regan administration and full of anger, chugging riffs, and trashing of authority figures.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 20 singles of 2018: #’s 20 – 16

2018 was the first year I started keeping track of my favorite singles of the year. It’s probably because there were so many good ones, including some that were just released as singles and others that stuck in my head for days. Who made the top 20? Read on and find out.

#20: “Sleepers” by Exploded View – This dreamy psych / synth track is a trippy mix of Velvet Underground and 80’s synthwave. It’s the kind of track that makes you wonder, “Who is this?” as soon as you hear it.

#19: “Nocturnal” by Magic Wands – Easily one of the best synthwave tracks of the year, this lush song is great for make-out sessions and has just enough of a dark edge to keep it dangerous.

#18: “You Are Dinner” by Constant Lovers – Good grief, does this thing have power. It’s a wild rock track with punk guitars and spat lyrics that the lead singer almost screws up but uses the moment to push his vocals even further.

#17: “Wheel of Fortune” by Protomartyr – The video of this shows one of the band members punching himself in the face. That’s apt, because this songs hits you just like that (especially when the chorus kicks in).

#16: “Singularity” by Jon Hopkins – The build of this electronic track is stunning to behold. It almost takes you by surprise like a big wave you didn’t see coming while standing hip-deep in the ocean. It’s over far too soon.

Who made the top 15? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Diagonal – You Are Free

Chicago shoegazers Diagonal were already high on my list of favorite new bands for 2018 with their LP Tomorrow released back in July. Apparently bursting with energy, they released a new EP of material, You Are Free, just a couple weeks ago. It’s five tracks of mind-bending riffs mixed with fuzz, psychedelic touches, and enough reverb to power an eighteen-wheeler.

The LP opens with the bass-heavy “Spending Time,” which blends psychedelic riffs with buzzsaw guitars that remind me of early RIDE tracks. “Wise Mary” has a great fade-in that is like a swarm of bees glide toward you across a field. It then swirls and buzzes around you like those same bees, but it keeps a comfortable distance without overwhelming you. “Sines” is a mesmerizing track of instrumental shoegaze rock that is perfect for escaping gravity. I love when bands are brave or carefree enough to include instrumental tracks on records, and this one is top notch.

The opening guitars on “Can’t Be Real” sound not unlike a warning klaxon, heeding you to the massive bass and drums coming your way in just a few seconds. Those later give the floor to a shredding guitar solo that almost turns singer Andy Ryan’s vocals into backing vocals. The EP closes with “Send for Me,” which contains the clearest vocals on the record and sounds like an Oasis track if Oasis fully embraced their shoegaze love and stayed away from petty squabbles.

It’s another solid record from Diagonal. You need to get on their bandwagon now. They’ll become Riot Fest headliners in no time (which would be great).

Keep your mind open.

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SOM release shoegaze / metal track “Open Wounds” from their upcoming debut.

SOM share animated video for first song from forthcoming debut

 Ex-members of Constants, Junius, Caspian. Animated video by Josh Graham (Neurosis, Soundgarden, A Storm of Light)

Watch & share “Open Wounds” (YouTube) (Brooklyn Vegan)

 

“SOM craft songs of epic melancholy that stagger the ears as well as the heart.” — Onion AV Club
“Serenely slowdive into shoegaze.” — SPIN
“A big, atmospheric mix of shoegaze, post-rock, space rock, and sludge metal, all led by Will’s ethereal vocals.” — Brooklyn Vegan
Post-metal shoegaze trio SOM premiere the first track from their forthcoming debut album today via Brooklyn Vegan. The animated clip for “Open Wounds” is created by visual artist Josh Graham (Neurosis, Soundgarden) and available to watch and share HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
On their debut record, SOM “craft songs of epic melancholy that stagger the ears as well as the heart” (Onion AV Club) and “serenely slowdive into shoegaze” (SPIN). Drummer Duncan Rich and bassist Justin Forrest build thunderous rhythms that give drive and pulse to the fuzzed out wall-of-synth-and-guitar-noise. Dark and heavy throughout, their music is complemented by memorable hooks and melodies in singer/guitarist Will Benoit’s somber, lamenting vocals.
Featuring founding members of seminal Boston space rockers Constants — and former and touring members of Adai, Junius, Rosetta, and Caspian — SOM wrote and recorded their debut album at Benoit’s solar powered The Radar Studio, along with engineer Daryl Rabidoux (Doomsday Student, Drowningman).
The Fall will be available on CD, cassette and download on November 9th, 2018. Pre-orders are available via Bandcamp HERE.

Artist: SOM
Album: The Fall
Record Label: self-released 
Release Date: November 9th, 2018
01. Prayers
02. Chemical Joy
03. Open Wounds
04. Black Out The Sky
05. Ten Years
06. Starless Sky
07. Stranger
08. Reflection
09. Aerosols
Keep your mind open.
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Review: Magic Wands – Abrakadabra

Starting with an odd, distorted chant (“Bashmuuu”), Magic Wands‘ newest album, Abrakadabra, is both meditative and exciting.  The sudden burst of “Nocturnal” (one of the best shoegaze tracks of 2018) is like a stage magician throwing down a small flash bomb onstage.  Synths move like dancing handkerchiefs and singer / guitarist Dexy Valentine (whose name WordPress keeps wanting to autocorrect to “Sexy Valentine,” by the way) sings, “I’m invincible when I’m with you.”  Well, sign me up for any required heroics, Mrs. Valentine.

The jangly guitars of “Houdini” by Dexy and Chris Valentine bounce all around the room, and the guitars on “DNA” come at you from multiple directions.  Don’t miss Tommy Alexander’s bass on it because it’s so smooth it might slide right by you if you’re not careful.  “Realms” almost lures you into a dream, and “Loveline” is wonderful dream pop.  The band refers to their sound as “lovewave,” and that description is apt on this track (and the whole record, really).  “New Device” brings back the shoegaze, and “Chains and Fur” belongs on your boudoir playlist. I love how both Chris and Dexy Valentine layer their vocals over one another on the track.

That “double vocal” effect is just as good, if not better, on “Diamond Road,” which begs to be played in a convertible driving across the U.S. on a lonely night.  Drummer Pablo Amador puts down some wicked beats on “Julie Ann Gray” as Dexy Valentine’s vocals are slightly muted yet covered in reverb.  It’s like a lost Dum Dum Girls track.  “Big Life” is a lovely close to a lovely record…unless you get the digital download that comes with the bonus track “Puzzle of Love.”  It’s worth it.  The guitars are bold and bright and the beats are playful.

As I mentioned above, Abrakadabra is a lovely record.  “Lovewave” might be your new favorite thing after hearing this.

Keep your mind open.

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Exploded Views’ latest single, “Dark Stains,” is now available for your listening pleasure.

LISTEN TO EXPLODED VIEW’S “DARK STAINS,” NEW SINGLE OFF OBEY
OUT SEPTEMBER 28TH VIA SACRED BONES
https://youtu.be/B64K_3gkmPo

FIRST-EVER NORTH AMERICAN TOUR KICKS OFF OCTOBER 19TH

(photo credit – Exploded View)
“‘Dark Stains’ [is] a chaotic, sinister partner to their recent single ‘Sleepers’ — if that one was the sky, this is underground. A buried hunk of metal run into by a rototiller. Life! A banger!” — FADER

“’Raven Raven’ is darkly cinematic; its initial moments of creaking synthesizer and rattling floor tom unspool like a reel of degraded film, clicking and flickering images onto a looming screen. . . The pictures Exploded View offer may be grainy, but they’re just as grave and lasting.”
— Pitchfork

“‘Raven, Raven’ is a logical continuation of Exploded View, with the same beat-poet delivery from frontwoman Annika Henderson and tense kinetic energy from the instrumentalists, who sound a little like the members of Can jamming in Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Black Ark Studios.” — SPIN

“Mysterious and claustrophobically groovy” — Brooklyn Vegan

“[‘Sleepers’] glides along on an eerie synth line — at times inviting and beautiful but then always threatening to take a turn into more discomfiting directions — while Henderson’s voice settles into this place where anxiety and fear and wonder seem to coexist. It’s a strange, beautiful composition.”
— Stereogum

Exploded View, the international project of Berlin-based lyricist/vocalist Annika Henderson, and Mexico City-based multi-instrumentalists Hugo Quezada and Martin Thulin, are gearing up for the release of their second full-length album, Obey, out September 28th on Sacred Bones, and first-ever North American tour. Previous “singles ‘Sleepers’ and ‘Raven Raven’ both showcase one of [Exploded View]’s greatest skills: luring listeners into its dreamlike songs with a strong groove, then revealing the dream is equally part nightmare” (AV Club). Now the trio present “Dark Stains,” “a song about a body who sees in themselves the errors of the past, yet flaunts behind the veils of inheritance and fails to take full responsibility for the present.” Annika described it in detail for FADER.

Leaving behind their live recording process and now a tight three-piece, Exploded View strike a special balance between precise and wild, unshackled and grounded, grooving and unhinged. The have a knack for making the esoteric feel accessible and crafting pop music out of seemingly raw consciousness. Recorded in Mexico City, the apocalyptic, yet soothing songs comprising Obey encompass all the classic dream motifs: intrigue, danger, ecstasy, hard to place, yet primordial visions, and a constant sense of movement.
                              

Listen to Exploded View’s “Dark Stains” –
https://youtu.be/B64K_3gkmPo

Listen to “Raven Raven” –
https://youtu.be/Zl-1qPg8iuE

Watch “Sleepers” Visual –
https://youtu.be/C6SXE9R67Wg

Exploded View Tour Dates:
Fri. Oct. 19 – Dallas, TX @ Nasher Sculpture
Sat. Oct. 20 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
Mon. Oct. 22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Club Congress
Wed. Oct. 24 – San Diego, CA @ The Whistle Stop
Thu. Oct. 25 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
Fri. Oct. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Sun. Oct. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Mon. Oct. 29 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studio
Tue. Oct. 30 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
Wed. Oct. 31 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Thu. Nov. 1 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
Fri. Nov. 2 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxxx Fluxxx
Sat. Nov. 3 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Mon. Nov. 5 – Montreal, QC @ Sala Rossa
Tue. Nov. 6 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
Thu. Nov. 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Fri. Nov. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilMOCA
Sat. Nov. 10 – Norfolk, VA @ Charlies American Cafe
Sun. Nov. 11 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Mon. Nov. 12 – Harrisburg, PA @ The Cathedral Room

Pre-order Obey:
via Sacred Bones – https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr209-exploded-view-obey
via Bandcamp – https://explodedview.bandcamp.com/album/obey

Keep your mind open.
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Film School announces first album, “Bright to Death,” and singles in eight years.

FILM SCHOOL RELEASE FIRST NEW ALBUM IN 8 YEARS
‘BRIGHT TO DEATH’ OUT SEPTEMBER 14TH ON HAUSKAT RECORDS
ADD MORE SHOWS FOR NOVEMBER
LISTEN: ‘CRUSHIN‘  ‘GO LOW‘

Photo: Howard Wise
FILM SCHOOL return this month with ‘Bright to Death‘, their fifth album and first full-length LP since 2010’s ‘Fission’. Recorded over 8 days in November 2017 on the outskirts of Joshua Tree, this luminescent collection of 11 songs is the finest showcase yet for the band’s signature layered sonic tones, psychedelic atmospheres, and seductive melodies. The album gets its title from text on an artwork singer and guitarist Greg Bertens had seen, part of an exhibit by Chinese students on the topic of global warming. “Bright to death” popped into his head as the band was recording in sun-blistered Joshua Tree, and it stuck. In addition to four members of the original lineup, the album features drummer Adam Wade (Shudder to Think, Jawbox) on several songs, and was mixed by Dan Long at Headwest Studios and mastered by David Gardner at Infrasonic Sound. “When this lineup first came together in the early 2000s, I never thought we’d be doing some of our best work 15 or so years later,” says Bertens. “Our [self-titled] album came out in 2006, when bands like the Strokes and Franz Ferdinand were in full swing. The music landscape was totally different then—shoegaze was a bad word. That’s changed.”
“…lush, languid beauty, chiming guitars, and widescreen, empyrean atmospherics.” BlackBook
‘…lovely, laconic dreampop.” Brooklyn Vegan
“…a honeyed, unhurried confessional that rolls in on a thick bass line and envelops every ounce of longing in twinkling guitar and washes of reverb.” buzzbands.la
“Go Low is another slow-burning gem that unhurriedly builds up to a stormier ending. Bertens’ shadowy, drawn out vocals hazily drape over the laidback drum pace, while sparkling guitar chime, starry-synths-notes and cymbals-shimmer add a brighter sheen. As the instrumentation swells in intensity, a searing guitar line soars through the effervescence, adding a hot rock kick to the dreamy atmosphere.” Big Takeover
‘Bright To Death’ is released September 14th on Hauskat Records.

LIVE SHOWS:
(more dates forthcoming)
November 8:  San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop
November 9: Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon (presented by buzzbands.la)
Nov 10:  San Francisco, CA – Cafe Du Nord (presented by Noise Pop)
Nov 17: Seattle, WA – Barboza JUST ADDED
Nov 18: Portland, OR – Holocene JUST ADDED
Keep your mind open,
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Protomartyr – Consolation

Produced in part with Kelly Deal of the Breeders and Pixies, Protomartyr‘s four-song EP, Consolation, packs more punch than many double albums in the punk, post-punk, neo-rock, or alt-rock genres.

The opening squall of “Wait” is like the sound of the gates opening at the Kentucky Derby, and the band are four horses running in peak form.  Vocalist Joe Casey growls, yells, and snarls while drummer Alex Leonard seems to put down four different beats at once.

“Same Face in a Different Mirror” would be a great title for a giallo film from the 1970’s, and Greg Ahee‘s opening guitar riff is indeed creepy enough for a stylish Italian slasher film.  It’s like Protomartyr put Joy Division, Editors, and Bauhaus in a juicer and extracted the micronutrients from all three for one track.

The last two tracks feature Ms. Deal on backing vocals.  The first is “Wheel of Fortune,” and it’s easily one of the best tracks of the year.  It comes out swinging, not giving you much time to breathe in the first minute before it breaks down into something that sounds like the soundtrack from a ghost film.  Casey’s vocals slowly rise from the ground (lifted by Scott Davidson‘s fine bass work), unleashing some of his inner Nick Cave before the band kicks down the door.  Davidson’s bass walk opens “You Always Win” and Casey sings about a troubled relationship he can’t bring himself to leave while Ahee’s guitar shoegaze riffs are subtle and stunning at the same time and Leonard unleashes a quick drum solo, which are sorely missing from rock nowadays.

Consolation is sharp as a knife and one of the better EP releases of 2018, so don’t skip it.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Follakzoid – III (2015)

I’d heard of Chile’s psychedelic / shoegaze rockers Follakzoid years ago, but hadn’t picked up any of their material for reasons unknown to me.  Lo and behold, they were on the lineup for the 2018 Levitation Music Festival in Austin, Texas, so I made sure to get tickets for their set (which did sell out).  I’m glad I did because their set was one of my top three for the whole weekend, and I left determined to dive deep into their catalogue.

I’m starting with their last record, III, which is only four tracks, but the shortest is just over nine minutes long.  It’s a mesmerizing, mostly instrumental mix of ambient synths, krautrock guitars, precision drumming, shoegaze fuzz, and misty psychedelic vocals.

“Electric” opens the album and lets you know that Follakzoid’s drummer is apparently a cyborg, because I don’t know how else he can keep up such a sharp beat for over eleven minutes.  The song might be the closest I ever get to floating in zero gravity.  The guitars range from hardly being there to surging toward you like a thunderstorm.  “Earth” is a little jostling at first with the crunchy, jagged guitars but it grows into a tribal meditation with heart-pumping drums and drone synths.  The song ends with weird bleeps, bloops, and what sound like synthesized animal and weather noises.  “Piure” (named after a rare seafood in Chile) seems to melt like a candle over a skull over the course of nearly thirteen minutes.    The last track, “Feuerzeug” (German for “lighter” or perhaps anything use to light a fire), has this mantra-like guitar riff that will float through your mind for days.  Follakzoid stretched this nine-minute track into nearly twenty minutes when I saw them in Austin earlier this year, and it was amazing.  I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that it was mind-altering without the need for any kind of hallucinogens or even booze.

III isn’t so much an album as it is a sensory experience.  It can carry you away if you’re not careful, which might not be a bad thing depending on the kind of day you’re having.  This album would’ve been in my top 10 of 2015 if I’d heard it then.

Keep your mind open.

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