I’ve made no secret of the fact I love shoegaze music. What I love even more is when I hear someone take that genre I love so much and push and stretch it into new and exciting shapes. In the UK we’re lucky to have Matt Catling aka Under The Sun. Regular visitors to Static Sounds Club will know I covered Matts last release Ocean Breeze where I discovered its meditative beauty. Now he returns with a new EP called Robot World. Here’s what he has to say about his new release.
“Following from my last release “Ocean Breeze” I’m back with “Robot World.” This time mastered by Andrew Rose (Whimsical, Tears Run Rings & Monster Movie). The title track “Robot World” brings the dark atmospheric of post punk vocals with the political climate over the last three years alongside the filters of electronic beats like Trip Hop and the wall of shoegaze guitars into the surface with robotic spoken words.”
Sounds intriguing, let’s check it out!
The EP opens on the slow burn of the title track. The guitar work is subtle, dynamic and fluid. Nimbly filling the space around his hushed vocal delivery. The drums add an element of electronica which should clash but this works. Catlings ear for experimentation is finely tuned and you know he’s a safe pair of hands. This is densely textured shoegaze with a psychedelic edge teamed up with a dystopian political message at its core. The promo video illustrates this beautifully whilst demonstrating Catlings optimism too. No spoilers…
‘Abstract Art’ was originally released in demo form back in 2021. Now we are treated to a fully realised version. The guitars now headier and in your face whilst the vocals have a distant, yet vital role in the mix. The wall of beautiful noise is overwhelming and all-consuming and fans of the genre are going to eat this up.
Catling amps things up with ‘Submission’. I think this is his most experimental piece to date. This is extreme volume. Like a hurricane of guitars in your head. If you close your eyes and crank the volume in your headphones this becomes almost hypnotic and meditative. The guitars sound like they are being played with chainsaws at points. This is wholly intoxicating and I’m happy to go under.
The EP closes on sedately paced ‘Sunrise’. This song oozes warmth and comfort. The guitars are gentler than anything we’ve heard thus far. They ebb and flow, peeling back to reveal a hidden vocal every so often before swallowing it in their waves of distortion. It’s a psychedelic daydream and one you can get lost in.
Once again Under The Sun has produced a stunning release. It never fails to astonish me how shoegaze can morph and bend into something new but still recognisably shoegaze. Catling pulls this off with consummate ease on Robot World and has set the bar high for sonic experimenters everywhere.
Robot World” is out on 2nd of June, via Shore Dive Records, on digital formats and limited-edition Compact Disc via Bandcamp.
You can follow Under The Sun on social media here….
Photos Stuart Groves James Howard
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