Crystal Canyon are a shoegaze band from Portland, Maine in the US of A. They create atmospheric and dreamy soundscapes with lush vocals, swirling guitars, and ethereal synths. To date they’ve released two stellar albums (in this guy’s opinion), Crystal Canyon from 2018 and yours with affection and sorrow from 2021. Both showcase the bands versatility and evolutionary spirit, the latter being one of my all-time favourites of the genre.
The band: Lynda Mandolyn, Todd Hutchisen, Jeremy Smith and Nate Manning now return with their new album, Stars and Distant Light. They came at this album from a different angle than their previous two releases. Mandolyn has this to say.
“Well, the pandemic had a hand in it. We just kept working. I also credit the addition of drummer Nate Manning driving the sound more than on previous albums. We worked on demos and from 17 we whittled it down to the nine best songs. Also, everyone collaborated on this album with the writing”
With quality control that high it looks like we’re in for a treat. Let’s drop the needle and see what they have in store for us.
The album opens on the glorious noise of ‘Dreamray’. Guitars wail against Mandolyn’s vivid vocals. Theres a great use of dynamics between verse and chorus with an additional layer of guitars coming in to send the song soaring. It’s a great comfort to hear this track first as it really doubles down on Crystal Canyons reputation as guardians of the gaze. Everything you could want from a shoegaze track is here and more. What a way to start!
Next up is dreamy single ‘Belt of Orion’. If ever someone was made to sing this song it was Lynda Mandolyn. Her floaty vocal drives the mood with the guitars dialling back their attack to jangle their lively backing. One thing that remains constant though is the precise and impactful drumming. Almost like punctuation it lifts everything to a different level.
Up next is the short but really beautiful interlude that is ‘Pulsars and Magnetars’. For those of you unsure, pulsars and magnetars are both types of neutron stars, which are basically the cores of giant stars left over when the stars themselves go supernova. There’s a celestial quality to the backing that makes you feel like you’re floating in the furthest reaches of space. Lonely and staring out at the vast nothingness. An absolute nugget of a song.
We’re back at pace next with the single ‘Judy Moody’. It’s head down and full throttle into the hurricane of guitars and thrashing drums. As always though, at the core is a catchy pop song driving this unrelenting aural assault. I can only imagine this is going to set off the mosh pit when played live.
The sumptuous intro to ‘Sierra’ welcomes us with a big hug next. The gentle sway of the track hooks you in and you find yourself nodding along, eyes closed soaking it in. Theres an iridescent glow to the production which only further endears the song to my ears. Written as a tribute to the late, great Julee Cruise it would undoubtedly have been loved by her.
My album highlight comes in like a wrecking ball next. ‘Catatonia’ fuses that extreme glide guitar of shoegaze with the spry melody of a power pop song. Its utterly celebratory and euphoric. It grabs you by the collar, lifts you up and plasters the biggest smile on your face. You’ll read elsewhere how this song references the big three bands of 90’s shoegaze but for me this is pure Crystal Canyon. Just listen to that psychedelic guitar solo near the end. The effervescent bassline and relentless drums. Sure, all shoegaze owes a thanks to those 90’s bands but the best modern shoegaze bands, of which Crystal Canyon very much are, plough their own furrow and deserve the kudos for doing just that.
‘Cobra Aurora’, as if proving my point, simultaneously straddles that alt-rock and shoegaze divide with ease and an assured confidence. When you’re trading in hooks and riffs as potent as these you can afford to relax into your performances. The band sound completely in the zone, every moment given the swagger and aplomb it deserves.
The hooks keep on coming with the spaced-out cosmic vibes of ‘Penelope, The Odyssey’. The chiming synth is a nice addition to the band’s sonic arsenal. It only adds to the impact of the punchy intro, the swoon some vocals and dreamy guitars. Man, this band have choruses for weeks.
The album comes to a close with ‘Center of The Universe’, a sprawling ballad that allows the band to add some space into their music. The resulting track thusly feels the perfect summary of all we’ve heard so far. Lyrics talk of the heavens and synth washes remind me of sci fi soundtracks of my youth. It doesn’t feel so much like a full stop but rather like leaving orbit and floating off into the galaxy.
With Stars and Distant Light Crystal Canyon have created and then curated us a slice of heavenly perfection. The songs feel thematically familial whilst maintaining their own uniqueness. As someone who listened the grooves out of his copy of yours with affection and sorrow , I’m just so happy the band have once again given us an album where we can get lost and disappear into the music. This time, however, we get lost in the kaleidoscopic universe of sound where Crystal Canyon call home.
Stars and Distant Light is out now and available digitally and on vinyl via Crystal Canyons Bandcamp page.
You can follow Crystal Canyon on social media here…
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