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Shoegaze

Shoegaze thrashes against No-Wave in Mild Horses’ standout single Failing Upwards.

Posted on 24 September 2021
Ignorance To Enlightenment And Back Again by Mild Horses

If your 90s Shoegaze records aren’t quite hitting the same these days, introduce yourselves to Slowdive’s noisier cousin, the London-based solo artist, Mild Horses.

The standout single, Failing Upwards, from their debut album, Ignorance to Enlightenment and Back Again, is comparable to a cocktail of the most indulgent elements of the Pixies, My Bloody Valentine and Interpol.

Listen intently, and you will get to keep hold of the sway-worthy bitter-sweet melodies that resound around the harsher no-wave elements that adrenalize the mix without ever chipping away at the ethereal soul of the release. Towards the outro, Mild Horses builds a wall of noise in his own psychedelically sonic style, making Failing Upwards all but impossible to forget.

Failing Upwards is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Sleepy Palms shone the Cali sun into their debut shoegazy garage rock single, You’re Gonna Be Just Fine

Posted on 4 September 2021

Garage rock, surf rock and shoegaze entwine in the synthy debut single, You’re Gonna Be Just Fine, from the California-based pioneers, The Sleepy Palms. They shone plenty of Cali sun into the optimistic in spite of crushing dread soundscape that will allow you to imagine what the Verve could have been if it wasn’t always raining in Manchester.

Their clever hooks, captivating choruses, velvety smooth vocals and glassy synths are arresting from start to finish as the Sleepy Palms set an innocently amorous scene that celebrates fleeting intimacy.

The way the bitter-sweet lyrics “I never liked the taste of cigarettes, I just wanted to be around you, and after all this time there is nothing left, but I’m still so glad I found you” fall into the surf rock rhythms, shoegazey reverb and clean vintage garage rock tones left me feeling like I’d hit the aural jackpot. Enrichen your soul by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Metrophobia chase ghosts in their Alt-90s inspired single, How Long

Posted on 31 August 2021
https://www.metrophobia.net/pictures/silent_treatment_800.jpg

If Metrophobia’s 2021 debut album, Silent Treatment, was marketed as a lost relic from the alt-90s, I’m fairly sure that no one would raise an eyebrow. The best introduction to their sonic palate that amalgamates shoegaze, noise, indie and grunge is the nostalgically ethereal single, How Long.

Around the catchy hooks, the tender vocals fall into the discord that spills from the scuzzed-up over-driven guitars, allowing you to see a softer side to the discontent How Long was inspired by.

The two forming members of Metrophobia met in Geneva, Switzerland; they worked on various projects together before turning their attention to their bitter-sweet cocktail of alt culture that will be a hit with fans of Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Teenage Fanclub and Sebadoh.

Metrophobia’s debut album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rouse the Boroughs have released their blissfully provocative no-wave single, Tighter is the Rope

Posted on 21 August 2021
Cosmic Creatures - Part 2 by Rouse the Boroughs

With their melodic themes that vary from no-wave to folk, Rouse the Boroughs is an exceptionally rare kind of outfit that can parallel the evocative output from nostalgia-inducing artists such as Mazzy Star, Elliott Smith and Neutral Milk Hotel. Those aren’t comparisons that I make lightly. The lead single, Tighter is the Rope, from their latest release, Cosmic Creatures – Part 2, is the perfect introduction to the Montreal-based art and music cooperative.

Instead of the cleverness of the soundscape capturing you through its vibrant dreamy -sporadically over-driven and sludgy, tones – it’s the emotion that the cooperative can express with their sound that leaves you affably hooked.  The vocals allow you to imagine what Sonic Youth would have sounded like if Thurston Moore was as vocally sweet as Matthew Caws. You’d be seriously hard-pressed to find a more blissfully provocative single released in 2021.

Check out Tighter is the Rope on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Checkout Rhaina Yasmin’s sonic indie alt rock hit, Grocery Store

Posted on 13 August 2021
Rhaina Yasmin

‘Grocery Store’ is the latest single from 21-year-old indie alt-rock singer-songwriter, Rhaina Yasmin which captures just how small our lives became in the months preceding the release. Anyone who went solo through lockdown will find it all too easy to get caught up in the grips of the stunning shoegazy release that doctors in hints of jazz and 90s pop in the style of the Cranberries as it explores our innate fears of self-obsession and alienation.

From a Slowdive-Esque prelude, Grocery Store progresses through tumultuous sonic storms while offering nothing but sheer tonal bliss. Her defiant yearning lyrics dominate the release, and the hooky chorus gives the track plenty of earworm potential.

Grocery Store released on August 13th. Check it out by heading over to Rhaina Yasmin’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get high with P.F’s electrifying trap track Opium

Posted on 8 August 2021

Up and coming hip hop artist P.F’s latest 3-track release, ULTRA OMEGA RUBY ZERO POINT FIVE, is as avant-garde as hip hop gets. The lead track, Opium, kicks off with bruising lashings of bass reverberating around scuzzy and harsh instrumentals, which merge trap, shoegaze and chiptune.

The use of sonic walls of noise to achieve the same level of disquietedness that is in the tormented lyrics was nothing short of genius on P.F’s side. He has all the potential to go viral with his electrifying releases that are visceral enough to act as a sign of the times. If this is the future of hip hop, we are here for it.

Check out Opium and the rest of P.F’s tracks via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nolle has released her deliciously morose shoegaze single, congratulations

Posted on 6 August 2021
Nolle

Any fans of Mazzy Star, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen will want to experience the deliciously morose tones in Nolle’s latest shoegaze single, congratulations, which comes with absorbing dissonant turbulence as it explores the effects of gas lightning through arrestingly poetic lyrics.

The concluding line, “now you can laugh at my art like my pain, guaranteed I’ve already done the same to myself”, affirms just how vulnerable of a release this is and without vulnerability, art is essentially meaningless.

At the age of 21-years-old, the Calgary-born, Vancouver-based expressionist and songwriter is already outshining the competition in terms of lyrical maturity and ability to sonically reflect the jarring instability of the emotions we can walk away from relationships with.

Congratulations officially released on August 6th; you can check out the single by heading over to the artist’s official website.

Wohn delivers a sonic blast of alt-90s nostalgia in his scorching hot alt-rock single, Junjito.

Posted on 28 July 2021

Up and coming alternative artist, Wohn has released his relatable EP, Waiting for Life to Happen; the lead track, Junjito, is an arresting amalgamation of shoegaze, post-punk and garagey psych-rock that any fans of the alt-90s will want in their ears.

After a shoegazy prelude, the mostly instrumental release starts to centre around the artist’s ability to lay down riffs at blistering speed and his ability to make a soundscape fraught with tumultuous tension with his over-driven angular lead work.

After an ebb in the veracious momentum, the pensive vocals make an eerily captivating appearance before Wohn lays down a scorching-hot, seemingly endless solo that is leagues apart from other contemporary alternative artists. We truly can’t rate Wohn highly enough. He not only evokes angsty grungy 90s nostalgia, but he also puts a visceral signature spin on it. We can’t wait to hear more of in the future.

Junjito is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Rorys Aspect has diversified Manchester’s music scene with his seminal single, Social Anxiety.

Posted on 23 July 2021

Manchester-based alt-indie electropop artist and producer Rorys Aspect has released his arresting EP, Lifesaver, featuring the standout synth-pop track, Social Anxiety, which comes with spacey 80s vibes and the most candid lyricism you will hear this year.

With shoegazey guitars and just as much reverb on the vocals, the raw nature of the lyricism loses some of its sting in the choral trippy tones that are prolific in tracks from Manchester’s greats such as the Stone Roses, the Chameleons and the Charlatans.

The self-produced track is unequivocal proof that Manchester has another revolutionary in its midst. As a fellow Mancunian, it is all too refreshing to hear an indie artist not falling into the process of assimilation.

You can check out Rorys Aspect’s latest EP by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Elective Theatre served bitter-sweet fuzzed-up soul in their latest indie grunge single, ‘False Start’.

Posted on 22 July 2021

It seems hyperbolic to state that Elective Theatre’s latest single, False Start, contains the same level of bitter-sweet soul in Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees while sounding completely authentic, but that is exactly what they achieved with this cuttingly melancholic seminal single.

The spiralling, shoegazey guitars reel you further into the pensive heart of the single with every psych-tinged fuzzed-up note. Art rock, grunge, shoegaze, 90s Britpop and indie fans alike should be internationally scrambling to make Elective Theatre a staple on their playlists.

False Start is easily one of the most masterful singles we’ve heard this year. We can’t wait to hear more from the indie rock outfit.

You can check out Elective Theatre’s spacey indie grunge track for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast