Browsing Tag

shoegaze

newmath traverses loss in the noisy dream pop discord of his latest single, Without You

Posted on 8 September 2022

As someone who will always hold a candle for the shoegaze pioneers, I will eternally be enthralled by 21st-century experimental iterations of the genre. newmath, the creative project of Chris Fish, certainly didn’t disappoint with the noisy dream pop discord in his latest single, Without You.

The lo-fi to the core production goes heavy on the sludgy effects – being from Seattle, it would be rude not to – but Without You is far more in Grandaddy’s arena rather than your definitive Seattle sound icons. The shimmeringly bright vulnerability of the release is incandescently sweet. Without you may be a song of mourning, but notably, no love has been lost.

With his forthcoming album, BLOOM, due for release on September 9th, save a spot on your radar.

The official music video for Without You premiered on August 29th. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sunstack Jones shows us why a tight circle is best on Even Though (feat. Tan Cologne)

Posted on 31 July 2022

Guiding us through a moment that should grab your attention rather quickly as you reflect on your journey so far, Sunstack Jones shows us inside the striking fear of change with a hazy delight to hold you tight with called Even Though (feat. Tan Cologne).

Sunstack Jones is a Liverpool, UK-based 5-piece daydreamy pop-filled shoegaze act that somehow has room for a pinch of reminiscing Americana.

Signed to Mai 68 Records, Sunstack Jones shows us the smokey world in a nutshell right now. Still healing and on a mission to travel (literally anywhere), this is a reminder that through a joint vision, anything is actually possible if the powers mesh together just right. Seeping with an old school feel and never short of cinematic, this is a powerful illusion to bake inside.

‘Even Though‘ (feat. Tan Cologne) from Liverpool, UK-based indie dream pop outfit Sunstack Jones burns through that illuminating sunset which might catch your mind away from the darkness outside. Tinted with a brightened edge that might get you thinking about everything you ever believed before, this is one of those highly memorable records you put on and leave on a loop for hours.

Timeless in feel and enriching to the core is always best.

Hear this new track on Spotify and follow the socials on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Northern Texas Fantasy is in the zone with the spectacularly sizzling **U&I&Me&U**

Posted on 28 July 2022

With an intense scenery that could take your mind hastily and twist it as far as you can could imagine, Northern Texas Fantasy takes us on a real quest-like ride via this heart-quickening psychedelic track which is intriguingly named **U&I&Me&U**.

Northern Texas Fantasy is a Boston, Massachusetts-based indie dance act who blends in sensational shoegaze and ear-bending vaporwave.

Taken from the new 12-track experience to behold called ‘It Girl‘, Northern Texas Fantasy shows us their birth from the internet with a pulsating single to get rather rowdy with. Stuffed with a thrill-a-second and thoughtfully projected song with raw vocals to burst your eardrums with. This is a quite fantastic anthem to get electrified inside that shocks you sharply if you touch it too closely and is a song that is impossible to forget.

**U&I&Me&U** from the hugely promising Boston, Massachusetts-based indie dance project Northern Texas Fantasy is a brilliant performance from a quality artist who sends us into a merrier world than before. Packed with a punch bowl filled with flavoursome beats to get lathered inside, this is a quality track to enhance your speakers with all night long.

Feeling the groove is all that matters.

Listen up to this magnificent new single on Spotify and see more via their Facebook page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Rising Leeds band Thysen smashes through our ceiling with their ‘Splinter’

Posted on 29 June 2022

With groovy riffs and an anthem-sounding style that is made for massive stadiums, Thysen unleashes their drum-snapping melodies to electrifying effect on their latest single to be totally enthralled by on ‘Splinter‘.

Thysen is a Leeds, UK-based indie post-shoegaze quartet who were making massive strides in the local scene before this horrific pandemic cruelly wiped out their progress.

”Since entering the scene in 2019, they have been perfecting their unique blend of herbs and spices.” ~ Thysen

Sending us into a better state of mind with an exciting performance which shall get your head nodding in total delight, Thysen return with monumental display made with a robust tone and vocals which will have you listening closer.

”Expect a range of sounds from melodic shoegaze to emo and stoner.” ~ Thysen

‘Splinter‘ from Leeds, UK-based post-shoegaze band Thysen, is a splendid single that will wash away all your doubts and shall thunder into your mentality like all the best songs do. They are a tight unit who have been developing their sound and seem ready for the next step – as they make that powerful music you can’t forget – that will get the who crowd completely enchanted into their message.

Listen up to this new track on Spotify and see more via their IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

London’s Lemonade Sin defied gravity with their elevated dream pop single, Melanie Nods

Posted on 7 June 2022
Melanie Nods by Lemonade Sin

Following the saturated-in-tape-delay indie dream pop intro, Lemonade Sin’s latest single, Melanie Nods, unfolds as a transcendentally playful aural crumble of the definitive UK sounds from the 80s to the 00s. The hazy shoegaze textures, chilling nods to post-punk and the Manic Street Preaches-Esque riffs in the middle eight pull together to form a sonic trajectory that you will want to follow time and time again.

With vocal reminiscences to Joy Division’s Atmosphere and the Human League’s Mirror Man happening simultaneously, Lemonade Sin is for every 80s fan out there looking for artists innovative enough to pull new aesthetics out of the synths, unmistakable percussion, and vocal layering.

Melanie Nods is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fleeting artfully revived the alt-90s take on dream pop with his latest single, Enso

Posted on 4 June 2022

The angular indie ambience in the latest single, Enso, from the Philadelphian bedroom producer Fleeting is something for every alt-90s fan to get excited about.

Beyond the Gorillaz and Radiohead influences are the hazy textures of dream pop and Slowdive-Esque shoegaze guitars spliced with the trippy discord of the downtempo artfully placed breakbeats that keep you centred in the mostly instrumental mix. For even more catharsis, turn to the other 24 artfully orchestrated hits in his 2022 self-titled album. We know we will. Repeatedly.

Enso is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Baltimore rock act Palm Trees In Moscow urges us to break free on, ‘Drunk At The Airport’

Posted on 25 May 2022

With a reverb-soaked experience to listen intently to as we curiously contemplate our current uncertain path in this bloodbath-saturated world, Palm Trees In Moscow returns with an ear-soothing new single that shall get you thinking profoundly with, ‘Drunk At The Airport‘.

Created by Chris Frantz, Palm Trees In Moscow is a Baltimore, Maryland alternative rock outfit that makes an anthem-sounding blend of harmony-packed awesomeness to be uplifted by.

”People often build invisible walls and put intangible limitations on themselves; this song is an anthemic cry to break out of the purgatory limbo of life we often create for ourselves.” ~ Palm Trees In Moscow

Dropping a punchy pop/roots/rock/shoegaze mixture of delicious intelligence, Palm Trees In Moscow sends us into a world of infatuation with a terrific track to put on vociferously. There is a delightfully inspiring transmission to lather deeply into here, with a fierce atmosphere that should wake up the sleepy slumber inside us all.

‘Drunk At The Airport‘ from Baltimore, Maryland alternative rock act Palm Trees In Moscow is one of the most introspective tracks you are likely to hear today. With vocals that are certainly striking and have you turning up the volume so you don’t miss out on any hidden lyrics, this is a single that shows us the laser focus of a skilled artist who has lived.

Showing us how to smash through those boundaries we have set for no reason, this is a rock track to truly appreciate for its vital message.

Follow the Spotify page in anticipation of the single release on the 3rd of June and get an inside look on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Chris Koehn urges us to be more grateful on the soothing ‘Sympatheia’

Posted on 15 May 2022

Taken off his much-awaited upcoming EP, Chris Koehn shows that wonderfully genuine compassion which is missing from the mainstream on his latest single to win over your heart, ‘Sympatheia‘.

Chris Koehn is a Mexico City, Mexico-based indie shoegaze singer-songwriter, music producer and architect who is on a mission to help others live their life in a way that is free from materialism.

“The freer from our attachments we are, the happier our life will be.” ~ Chris Koehn

Bringing us a real reminder to be truly kind to yourself as the soul you have inside you is asking for your understanding, Chris Koehn sends us a true love letter that should be heard far and wide, rather than being harsh and evil to your consciousness that wants a warm embrace.

”After experiencing his brother`s death, Chris Koehn architect & singer/songwriter/ producer entered a musical journey as an introspective grieving process. Seeing the healing power its music had over him and others, he started to share and work on his music to help other people feel & heal together.” ~ Chris Koehn

‘Sympatheia‘ from Mexico City, Mexico-based indie shoegaze singer-songwriter, music producer and architect Chris Koehn is a calming blend of mellow sounds that shows us that being kind to yourself is the key to life, rather than worrying about things that don’t actually matter. Sung with true control and a mellow style, this is a tranquil song that should get you in a meditative state, that is far away from those silly stresses that can dampen your mood into a coldness that is so unnecessary.

Listen up to this new single on Spotify and check out his IG for more.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Mallaigh Ashton made the alt-90s her own with her latest dreampop single, With a Song

Posted on 4 March 2022

NYC-hailing singer-songwriter, Mallaigh Ashton, made the alt-90s her own in her indie dream-pop release, With a Song. Reminiscences of Mazzy Star are there, but nothing about With a Song feels fractionally assimilative. There’s a real sense that part of the alchemy in this track is from Ashton’s creative passion and unfiltered poetry spilling into a mic.

Her vocals get just enough prominence in the release to give the cutting lyricism on in-love-anxiety a firm hold on your heartstrings but there’s still enough synergy with the soft shoegaze guitars to give With a Song an almost phantasmal mellifluous air as it alludes to just how fragile love can make you.

As a staunch shoegaze fan, it is always daunting discovering new up and coming artists borrowing tones from the alt 90s, but the cynicism soon faded after hitting play on With a Song. Mallaigh Ashton is a matchlessly breath-taking artist.

With a Song is due for official release on March 4th; you can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud and Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Life is but a dark dream in Fox Evades’ latest indie-pop single, Strange Forever

Posted on 27 February 2022

If you ever needed definitive proof that no city breeds dark indie like Manchester, delve into the atmosphere in Fox Evades’ latest single, Strange Forever.

With a beguiling vocal style reminiscent of Jo Bevan from Desperate Journalist paired with the instrumentals that will remind you why you fell for post-punk and new wave in the first place, Strange Forever is an indulgent hit of tonal nostalgia.

When it comes to the substance in this viscerally evocative confession, Fox Evades well and truly stands in a league of their own. There comes a time in every outlier’s life when we acknowledge that we will never grow into normalcy; Strange Forever captures those cutting feelings while unifying the similarly minded with the lyrical affirmation that it’s a choice to be alone.

Strange Forever will officially release on February 25th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast