Tag: Shoegaze

Categories
Music

Curve – Blindfold EP – Bootleg EP Series 1 & Chinese Burn – Bootleg Series Vol 2

There’s not a lot more to say about the legendary Curve that I could add to, save for most of the 1990s, they were among the best shoegaze bands, and it could be said that maybe only My Bloody Valentine were more highly esteemed, yet the members never seemed to stop working.  Dean Garcia maintained a great career as a session musician and even playing in a band with his daughter called SPC ECO (Space Echo), while lead singer Toni Halliday started two other projects called Scylla and Chatelaine, as well as appearing on a track with the American band The Killers in 2011.

These recordings showcase their early material, as far back as 1990, which was their best, rawest period.  For those of you who spent their 20s listening to this kind of music as I did, these tracks are a pleasant reminder of how good Curve really was, and how it’s incredible to hear how fresh their sound has remained for nearly three decades.

Categories
Music

虚极 (Bliss-Illusion) – 森罗万象 (Shinrabansho)

虚极 (Bliss-Illusion) are a band based in China who have caused quite a sensation all across the world of Black Metal.  The music is a combination of the aforementioned Black Metal but adding a twist by mixing post-rock, straight-ahead metal, elements of doom, shoegaze and what they term to be folk-metal.  If you’re sensitive to screaming vocals, you might want to sit this one out, but it works rather well with the music.

Categories
Music

Departure Street – Everybody’s Leaving

From the bio:
Allan J. Kimmel (aka Departure Street) is an American/French solo electric guitarist based in Paris France. He plays alternative ambient and neo-folk music with shoegaze & American blues underpinnings.
I could not have said it more succinctly.  This is not my first time reviewing Allan’s wonderful guitar work.  I featured his previous release, Two Islands In The Heart, in March of 2020.
This album is one filled with clouds of guitar ambiance which relaxes and doesn’t get too much in the way of one’s thoughts.  There continues to be a shoegaze or very minimalistic indie rock-flavored guitar playing, but it’s not intrusive.  Another fine release by Allan.
Categories
Music

Aidan Baker – Lost in the Rat Maze [PWYC]

Imagine if you were listening to Neu! with a far more relaxed beat rather than the insistent and incessant pulse the legendary Krautrock band was famous for.  Hear me out on this.  It’s actually quite a magnificent sound to behold, really.  There is a lo-fi, drony vibe to Fanciful Flights after starting quietly, with lots of rumbling on the first two tracks.

Aidan Baker has always covered a lot of musical ground on his releases, but this one, muffled as it might sound, managed to hold my interest for the duration of the album.

Categories
Music

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete – De Facto

I would never have come across Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, a Guadalajara, Mexico-based band without the help of my new friend, Ali, whose taste in music is absolutely impeccable.  There is something wonderfully retro about the band, who reference a lot of bands like the Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, and even Joy Division in the track Unificado.  A worth release.

Categories
Music

κτίρια τη νύχτα – ΣΧΕΔΙΟ ΠΟΛΗΣ

κτίρια τη νύχτα (Buildings At Night) release an album of mostly instrumental music, though vocals peek through now and then, complementing the shower of guitars that mixes shoegazer, lo-fi, and, believe it or not, a touch of the 4AD Records sound.

It’s a subdued, dark album, maybe not something I would listen to everyday, but it may well serve as a soundtrack to a dark, quiet evening.