Hotel 65 is another slice of sometimes ethereal, sometimes fuzzy shoegaze from Hong Kong-based Thud. The vocals are barely heard above the vibrating guitars until the final parts of the song and, like sun rays piercing the clouds, they finally breakthrough similar to a pinprick of light. Endearing. Facebook Continue reading Thud – Hotel 65
Canadian Shoegazers Prepare My Glider announced they have a long-player in the offering. Smokesong is the first track to lifted from the as-yet-untitled album and given the references to Ride, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive on the Bandcamp page you may have some expectations on how this track sounds. However, rather than being a fully-fledged shoegazing track, Smokesong heads back to the earlier times of ethereal wave namely 4AD artists like The Cocteau Twins. It’s a wonderfully executed mixing reverb-laden guitars, otherworldly vocals and subtle, ambient passages. It’s backed with a demo of No Early Warning which dives deep into … Continue reading Prepare My Glider – Smokesong
Following on from a couple of preview tracks Los Angles based Mo Dotti have released their debut EP. Titled Blurring it features five tracks of ethereal shoegaze that sounds like it has come straight out of the 4AD back catalogue namely Lush and The Pale Saints. That’s not a bad starting point to be fair and the band’s shimmering shoegaze sound takes me back decades it has to be said. The voice of Gina Negrini is a delight and in my imagination, I can drift off high into the clouds whilst listening to this lovely, but sometimes, forlorn, EP. The … Continue reading Mo Dotti – Blurring EP
Indonesian label Shiny Happy Records have just released a split tape which features three tracks each from The Suncharms and Mirrorlakes. Since I have never mentioned Sheffield based indie band The Suncharms before I best set the scene! The band was originally active between 1989-1993 but eventually reformed after releasing a compilation on Cloudberry Records in 2016. They played their first gig in almost 24 years in 2017 and a single on Slumberland was released the following year. The band have also appeared on a couple of compilations including last Novembers F.A.R. OUT on Fadeawayradiate Records. Last Halloween they also … Continue reading The Suncharms/Mirrorlakes – A Split Tape
Early Morning Abstract from Brisbane’s Relay Tapes is the follow up to 2018’s Semblance EP. The band delve into a range of influences ranging from ambient to shoegaze in order to create a range of really strong songs. The ambient opener Theme 42 has some drone textures woven in whilst In The Ground opens with some kosmische sounds, slowly building with layers of repetition but without any negativity attached. It was Planetarium with it’s blend of drone, shimmering guitars and low audible female vocals that finally turned me onto the band in a big way whilst Dream Colour is a … Continue reading Relay Tapes – Early Morning Abstract
Wonder, the follow up to last October’s Where You Are EP, from Dallas based Audiobaton is another slice of fuzzy noise pop with a few shoegazing tinges here and there. Despite the band coming from across the pond I hear a lot of UK influences on the track especially from bands who were prevalent between 1989-1991 as shoegazing was fading away whilst grunge bands were emerging and the early foundations of Brit-pop were being laid. One for playing loud! Facebook Continue reading Audiobaton – Wonder
The new single from The Churchhill sees Andy Jossi team up with Jack Richard Sobel from Black Swan Lane who, like previous collaborators before him, supplies the words and voice. The sound is vast and expansive as Jossi pushes the boundaries of epic dreampop ever further whilst Sobel’s lyrics and sometimes stoic vocals could signal the last few thoughts of someone in despair. Staring at the gloomy artwork adds to the mood but the end result isn’t dark as you might expect. There is beauty to be found here if you look and listen hard enough. Homepage Continue reading The Churchhill Garden – Dreams Turn Gray
Singapore based band Coming Up Roses have released a demo (they call it “homemade”) of a track they were working on before the Covid-19 pandemic broke which is titled All Our Time. It starts off mellow with the dreamy vocals of Emily Sera sounding quite lovely – as they always have been to be fair! The guitars then kick in and we are treated to a full on shoegaze explosion. The song then repeats the same pattern whilst Sera spins a tale of relationship woe. “Don’t say you’re sorry just to leave me in the cold” she sings but somehow … Continue reading Coming Up Roses – All Our Time (Demo)
Glaswen – Definition Russian band Glaswen recently announced on Facebook they were back from the dead and they have Definition, their first track for almost seven years, to prove it. I guess we can be thankful to lock-down for this … Continue reading The Sunday Session
Is waking up to a new single from Apple Orchard on a nice sunny morning one of life’s pleasures? A Slow Dissolve suggests so! It contains enough fuzz and noise to keep me happy as the band draw from their indiepop and shoegaze influences. It’s like the Mary Chain being mixed with The Primitives with some Ride thrown in but rather than sounding totally retro it actually sounds pretty fresh to these ears. Happy daze. The band recently recorded a live social distance session for Our Secret World which was organised by Indonesian label Shiny Happy Records. That session has … Continue reading Apple Orchard – A Slow Dissolve
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