Moon Cowboy – An Explosion of Sound EP

We’re Portugal bound to hear the new An Explosion of Sound EP from rising shoegaze sensation Moon Cowboy. Ricardo Fiel is a shoegaze wizard whose guitar work is nothing short of mesmerizing. With over a decade of experience touring with Portuguese superstar David Fonseca, he has honed his craft and emerged as a solo artist under the moniker Moon Cowboy. Now signed to UK based shoegaze label 1991 Recordings he’s set to release his new EP to the world.

Citing influences as wide and deep as Radiohead, Slowdive and Spacemen 3 it sounds like we’re in for an interesting listen.

The EP opens with the drone driven ‘Your Bright Light’. Very much a song of two halves. The opening half has me remembering the Spectrum album Soul Kiss (The Glide Divine) one of my most beloved records. It’s other worldly and beguiling but all is about to change. Once the drums appear the song blooms into this technicolour dreampop track that just soars. The heavy reverb on everything, including the harmonica just ties it all together in in a psychedelic cloud.

It’s in dreampop territory we remain for the recent single ‘Baby Jane’. We fairly skip along while guitars paint textures and dance around the stunning drum pattern. We are occasionally treated to some really heavy glide guitar, which lifts the song no end. Overall, this song is infinitely catchy and holds your attention well.

We slip into ‘A Moment’ next. All agitated and rippling drums like some lost Radiohead track bring us in. Fiel then paints his velvety vocals over the top before the song swells and emerges as a bombastic reverie in the chorus. It’s that contrast throughout that makes this my EP highlight. The darkness in those quieter sections is brought into sharp relief by the sensory overload of the choruses. It’s both very simple and incredibly complex at the same time.

We close out with the slow burn of ‘In Colors’. The song slowly reveals itself as it introduces drums first, some textures of guitar before the moody and atmospheric piano arrives. The orchestral synth pads lift the song as Fiel’s dusky vocal floats over it all. It’s very much a mood piece and that wistful and longing sound takes this EP to its conclusion.

These four songs are my introduction to Moon Cowboy ands it’s left me wanting more. There’s a real variety of tones and feel throughout that makes this an incredibly absorbing and satisfying listen.

An Explosion of Sound EP will be available digitally everywhere on May 17, 2024 on 1991 Recordings.

You can follow Moon Cowboy on social media here…

Whitelands – Night-bound Eyes are Blind to the Day

The long-awaited debut album from London based gazers Whitelands is finally here. After a series of incredible single releases before and after signing to the legendary Sonic Cathedral label they bring us Night-bound Eyes are Blind to the Day. The band are Etienne (guitar and vocals), Jagun (drums and backing vocals), then Vanessa (bass) and Michael (guitar). Along with The Veldt and AR Kane they find themselves a black shoegaze band in what is a predominantly white genre. “There’s an underlying narrative that it’s OK for white men to be romantic, sensitive, emotional and make dreamy music and, by contrast, young Black men should be making angry music,” says Vanessa. “We’ve all grown up with these stereotypes and therefore I think people are mystified when they see Whitelands.”

It’s dreamy music they make alright and the singles released up until now have all been played exhaustedly in the Static Sounds Clubhouse. The album title intrigued me as it stands out from any title they’ve employed up until this point. Etienne was more than happy to explain the album title is taken from The Prophet, the philosophical 1923 book by Kahlil Gibran.

“The full quote is ‘the owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light’, I think it encapsulates the feeling of the album. A common theme running through the songs is lots of ‘I’, ‘you’, sense and emotion. Very physical and intimate settings. Lots of descriptors of light, celestial bodies, water, Biblical stuff, abstract stuff. I don’t really know why I write things the way I do, but I do tend to write emotions as anything other than what they actually are.”

“I consume a lot of media. Video-games, music, news, paintings, manga, animations and film are my go-to, especially anime. There is this drive to want to understand and feel the whole weight of an expression. So, the songs are based on other songs, pictures, aesthetics, ‘vibes’, an emotion someone else felt. Fundamentally, you are what you eat.”

Well, I’m ready to tuck in to whatever Whitelands are serving up. Let’s drop the needle and see what’s what.

The album opens on the driving guitars of ‘Setting Sun’. The single from earlier this year draws inspiration from the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent reactions from the global community. Etienne’s poignant vocals navigate systemic discrimination, while the dreamy guitar backing acts as the canvas for the message. I loved this on release and it’s only got better with repeated listens.

Next up “The Prophet & I” shuffles in and immediately you’re hooked by the melody. This is dream pop with a capital POP. Celestial guitars guide this song along with real purpose. It’s no wonder this was released as a single last year. There’s a palpable joy in the delivery of the vocal which makes this such an impactful track.

We float into ‘Cheer’ on a velvety cloud of reverb-soaked guitars. The pace dropping ever so slightly this is a more meditative track that just shimmers out the speakers. The mellowness of the verses contrasting with soaring vocal in the chorus. It’s a tricky balancing act that the band make look effortless.

Dottie from labelmates deary guests on ‘Tell Me About It’. Her vulnerable and airy vocals are the perfect pairing for Etienne’s. They lend this song a romantic angle that plays right into the lyrical content. “How can you tell with loving? How do you hear the answers? How do feet match the guidelines? I never learnt the dance.” The complexities of love laid bare in one verse.

From the dewy-eyed allure, we plunge back down to earth with ‘How it Feels’. This feels more like the flip side of love, the sting of betrayal. I love how the guitars interact with each other in the latter half of the track. Climbing over each other in a race to the song’s conclusion.

Whilst the parallels to Slowdive’s musical palate are undeniable ‘Chosen Light’ takes a detour through the sound of The Cure at their dreamiest. The bass pulsing through this one is most Gallup like in its insistent intensity. As always, its only a colour in the overall picture of the song. Whitelands are no tribute act. Rather a sum of their parts.

“Born in Understanding” is a celestial dance—a waltz with the universe. It’s the soundtrack to stargazing, the ache of longing, and the fragile beauty of vulnerability. The twilight mood just washes over you instantly transporting you to the chilled air of the gloaming. This is just beautiful songwriting, from the transportive lyrics (“The moon rose, asunder from aether The womb unfolds the maw, unearthed, in sight”) to the call and response of the guitars. It’s my album stand out track.

The album comes to a close with the strident opening chords of ‘Now Here’s The Weather’. A track that explores the black experience shining a light on the hypocrisy of religion and well meaning do gooders. “And what of loving? And what of peace? my bible commands, it’s wrapped in green. Let’s love thy neighbour, lets burn their house. I don’t understand what comes from their mouths” It’s really potent stuff and an incredibly impactful way to close out the LP.

Whitelands have crafted a sonic experience that ticks every box on a shoegazers shopping list. Dig deeper though and you have lyrics of depth and real meaning. Delivered with a literary flair there’s so much more to discover in the headphones. The production is top notch with a consistency and cohesion across all the tracks. As a statement of intent Night-bound Eyes are Blind to the Day more than does its job. Its no wonder Slowdive asked the band to support them on recent dates.

Night-bound Eyes are Blind to the Day is out now on Sonic Cathedral. The first press of vinyl is long gone but a second press on blue day vinyl as well as CD and cassette is available now from your favourite record shop.

You can follow Whitelands on social media here…

Photo Credits

Edward Sogunro

Tetsu the Phoenix – See You Around

Last summer I was lucky enough to be sent the debut EP from Northampton (Massachusetts) band Baleen. I was absolutely enthralled with its new take on the shoegaze and grunge sounds of my teenage years. Since then, the band have shaken things up a bit, passed their instruments about and returned with a new album, now under the moniker Tetsu the Phoenix.  

By all accounts the band have approached this album with a different lens. Citing parallels like DIIV and Alcest it would appear we are in for a heavier sound than on the Baleen EP. The album is entitled See You Around and has a very interesting story at its core. I’ll let the band tell you themselves.

“See You Around includes a song cycle based on Haruki Murakami’s The Trilogy of the Rat. Finding inspiration in the otherworldly of Wild Sheep Chase to the mundane of Hear the Wind Sing, the record spends time in Junataki-Cho Township – among other fan-familiar locales – in tracks 4-9. The songs represent an effort to bring Murakami’s world to a new dimension: that of sound.”

Sure enough, the heavier aesthetic is instantly apparent in the intro to opening track, ‘Mr Sunshine’. The Philly vibes are real as mountainous guitars scream and squall in melodic feedback. The dynamics are spot on as the guitars dip in and out over verse and chorus. This track gives me goosebumps every time. Think of a kinda cross between Just Mustard and Nothing and your halfway there.

The feels get ramped up on ‘You Die, I Die’. This one is more vocal led and leans into the epic with a chorus that is deeply affecting. If you don’t fall to your knees when they sing “If you die, I die. We made a deal; we made a deal” on top of that soaring guitar then I can’t help ya. This song has single written all over it and is a perfect intro for someone new to the band.

‘Wanting’ veers into a swampy, more doom gaze feel. The lighter moments here are much lighter but when things get fuzzy, man it’s really dirty. To me, those parts take me away to some vast desert with an infinite horizon. It’s that transportive quality of these songs that I just love.

We enter the song cycle next with the explosive ‘21 China’. This is a more exploratory song structure which is led by a dazzling display from the drums. The vocals impossibly drape themselves over this complex rhythm like some sorcerer’s cloak. Just as you are lulled by the spell though, the song erupts again into exultant guitars and pulverising bass. This album really keeps you on your toes, who knows what’s next.

Luckily, I do, it’s the effervescent ‘Ratlady’ A song built around a bright and melodic lead guitar hook contrasted with a fuzzed-out backline. The elongated syllables in the vocal delivery lend the track an almost drowsy somnolence. That contrast really makes this one of the albums stand out tracks for my money.

As an album See You Around has ambition core to its DNA and as if to embody that whole approach next up, they deliver ‘Full Moon on the Wane’. This song is stadium size and is destined to be a live favourite. It’s the perfect balance between melody and madness. The guitars trade off between that glide guitar sound and carefully picked lead line. The vocals are more up front and as such are more impactful. It really is another little bit of magic.

The oddly titled ‘Sheeps, A Man Appears’ follows and its stream of consciousness lyrics flow and fly in equal parts. Once more we’re kept on our toes as the song takes off at pace only to drop down to a minimal guitar line and vocals for the closing minute or so. I love how the band aren’t afraid to introduce us to new textures and sounds this late into the album. I find that utterly exhilarating and I wish more bands would do it.

Things stay strictly down tempo for the angelic sound of ‘About a Beach’. This is a much more unsaturated sound even though the guitars remain on full fuzz effect. How are they doing this? More sorcery I tell you! That cyclical chord sequence is utterly hypnotic and I wanted it to last about twice as long. I suppose that’s how they’ll keep me coming back to listen again and again.

The album closes out on the Mary Chain influenced ‘Bound to Disappear’. The fuzz driven guitar is maxed out and chugs along as the vocal sits on top cutting a really beautiful melody over it. Hats off for rhyming “garage” with “arbitrage” by the way. It’s a fitting way to round out this utterly exceptional record and send you back to listen again.

I’ll openly admit that I haven’t read Haruki Murakami’s The Trilogy of the Rat series however the good news is you don’t have to in order to appreciate this album. For fans of the books, I’m positive the lyrics will hit you differently but take it from me, they hit you no matter what. Musically the band have created a piece of shoegaze heaven and it’s going to resonate with fans of the genre instantly. There’s much more to enjoy on here though so fans of Radiohead will enjoy it as much as say, fans of My Bloody Valentine. What I love the most is that the album has cohesion. These songs hang together and support each other so well. This isn’t just a collection of songs. It’s an album, an honest to god, thought-out, well-structured album. For that alone it deserves your immediate attention and following that, your undying affection.

See You Around is available now digitally and on vinyl from Strange Library Records. Make sure to follow the Tetsuo the Phoenix Bandcamp page.

Geography of the Moon – Sometimes

After three years which has seen the band relocate from Glasgow in the UK to the sunnier climes of Thailand, Indonesia and soon Japan, post punk poets Geography of the Moon return with a new single.

Formed in London, UK, in 2016, Geography of the Moon is a collaboration between singer/pianist Virginia Bones and multi-instrumentalist /producer Andrea AKA Santa Pazienza. They thrive in the live environment and since the end of Covid restrictions this duo has clocked up over 450 gigs.

I covered their debut album Fake Flowers Never Die back on its release in 2021 and remarked at the time on the band’s lyrical honesty and powerful musicality. I wonder if all these gigs have morphed this band into something else or built on the sound they created back then.

The new single is called ‘Sometimes’ and I asked Andrea how he would describe it to someone who’d never heard the band before. He responded “It’s a surf rock influenced post punk tune duet about social anxiety and existential dread.”

As the track opens, I’m reminded of The Specials if they lived on the California coast. The jagged guitar drives the whole track along. Switching between angular lead lines and rhythmic arpeggios and grungy open chords. As always Virginia’s vocal is on point and forms the perfect foil to Andreas edgy, anxious delivery. She sings just enough, never over complicating her part. When the song hits choruses it just makes it more impactful. Check out the video for the track below.

As always, Geography of the Moon have created yet another track that is unmistakably them. It’s so rare that you can tell whose track you’re listening to after mere seconds of the intro. If, like me, you loved the bands album Fake Flowers Never Die then you’ll be pleased to hear a new album is in the works. I cannot wait!

‘Sometimes’ is out on April 5th 2024 and is available from the Geography of the Moon Bandcamp and all your usual streaming services.

You can follow Geography of the Moon on social media here…

Elephant Stone – Back Into The Dream

With the days starting to lengthen and the sun starting to appear more regularly I’ve been on the hunt for some summery tunes to soundtrack my days. Once again, my pals over at Fuzz Club have come up with the goods. Back Into The Dream is the sixth album from Montreal psych-pop band Elephant Stone. The band consists of driving force Rishi Dhir with Miles Dupire on drums, Jason Kent juggling keys and guitar, and Robbie MacArthur on guitar.

This band have crafted their distinctive sound over a 14-year career that has seen them gain plaudits for each and every album they’ve released. But what is the motivating theme behind the songs on this album. Dhir has this to say.

“I’m often caught in the web of intense, recurring dreams, which I think reflect my ongoing quest for identity and a sense of belonging. ‘Back Into the Dream’ isn’t merely an album; it’s a complex orchestration of emotions, ideas, and existential inquiries.”

I can’t wait to drop the needle on this one so let’s dive in.

We open on ‘Lost in the Dream’ and straight away the summery pop vibes wash over us. There’s a careful balance between those sweet vocal harmonies and the strummed acoustic guitar in the verses. When the chorus erupts in technicolour, we are bathed in the many colours of Elephant Stones genius. It’s a really strong opener.

It’s obvious from the intro to the ‘The Spark’ next that this band have a lot more hooks up their sleeves. The harmonies, on guitar this time, are rich and warm and when that chorus comes it takes you soaring. On writing this song Dhir has some in depth thoughts to share.

“Crafting a song is like tapping into a kind of magic that exists beyond the realm of the ordinary. I’m in perpetual pursuit of that elusive sensation—the spark that turns fleeting thoughts into something immortal. ‘The Spark’ is my love letter to the art of songwriting, a tribute to the creative process itself. It’s about that serendipitous moment when time and space align, allowing you to capture lightning in a bottle.”

“From that ineffable feeling, I labour to find the right words, striving to make the abstract both concrete and deeply personal. Each completed song leaves me both satisfied and hungry—satisfied that I’ve said something meaningful, and hungry to rediscover that spark once more.”

The band tap into their sixties influence for the stunning ‘Going Underground’ (not The Jam song). The guitars here hark back to the sharp and cutting riffs of Townsend and Marriott. That insistent and driving drum beat providing the basis for those riffs to explode from. The chorus Teenage Fanclub would kill for. All call and response on the harmony singing.

The spaced-out intro of ‘History Repeating’ takes us flying into the heavens to soar through the heavens. There’s a sparkly and pulsing vibe to the song that resolves nicely in the coda section to bring us gently back down to earth.

We remain in cosmic territory for out there sounds of ‘bae’. Taking that space folk jam that The Byrds began on The Notorious Byrds Brothers and bringing it bang up to date. It’s second half bursting through the psychedelic veil and, like the close of 2001: A Space Odyssey, takes us hurtling into the void.

Next, we have the two tracks that made up the Dawn, Day, Dusk release from earlier this year. Firstly, the instrumental ‘Godstar’ channels the raga style of David Crosby and provides us with an eastern flavour. Tabla and sitar providing us with another side to Elephant Stone. This segues into the expansive and all consuming ‘The Imajinary, Nameless Everybody In The World’. This song completely floored me on first listen. It’s almost eight-minute runtime flying by in an instant. This could easily be the centre piece of some lost rock opera. It cycles through pastoral psych folk, rock and into free form jazz moments to create this stunning listening experience.

That free jazz vibe continues into ‘Pilgrimage’. Its lush arrangement built on a shuffling drum beat and very percussive bassline which drives the swirling saxophone and chiming guitars to even loftier heights.

We return to the hooky psych pop with ‘On Our Own’. The Big Star vibes are real and I’m here for it. It’s a perfect hooky pop number with a baroque moment or two as additional ear candy. They employ their vocal harmonies in just the right places providing us with flashes of light as they go.

The album closes out with the Beatle-esque ‘Another Year Gone’. It’s a lovely full stop to this album with its Mellotron intro and Sgt Pepper era arrangement. It’s only begun and its over but not before they treat us to their beautiful vocal harmonies one last time.

Elephant Stone are a band after my own heart. We share a lot of musical touchpoints, particularly from the sixties. What I appreciate more than anything though, is both the care and attention that has gone into the writing and performing of each song as well as the track listing of those songs. The album flows along quite naturally and carries you along with a massive smile on your face. This will be the soundtrack for my next few months as the days stretch out in front of us and the sun returns to our skies.

Back Into The Dream is available now from Fuzz Club Records, from the Elephant Stone Bandcamp Page as well as your favourite indie record shop.

You can follow Elephant Stone on social media here…

Seems Like Forever – Listen

Fans of Presents For Sally and Echodrone can rejoice as Matt Etherton and Jackie Kasbohm have joined forces to launch a brand-new musical project. Seems Like Forever have been writing and recording for months and are now ready to let us hear the first fruits of their labour. Listen is the first single from the duo featuring three tracks to introduce us to this new sound they are making.  

Joining them for this first single they have the main man from shoegaze legends Nax, Nicolás Castello. I asked Etherton for the lowdown on what we can expect from these new songs.

“The B sides are pretty loft sounding which I love. One with an acoustic just recorded through a mic and the other just part of one of the tunes which will be on the LP but with Sonic Youth type noise over Jackie’s vocal. I’m excited about it all.”

“The A side is close to exactly the sound I had in my head too. Rough and ready with some animal collective weirdness thrown in.”

Sounds like this is going to be a bit special.

The title track opens on a lo-fi drum beat that anchors the whole arrangement. Soon shimmering synths and a fluttering guitar enter and we are flying. It’s when Kasbohm’s otherworldly vocals enter the fray that this song is fully formed. There’s a real warmth throughout from the rounded bass tones to that arpeggio guitar part that just has me smiling every time I hear it. A real summer sound.

On the flip side we begin with a stripped back ‘Seen It All Before’. It comes in like a lost Nirvana Unplugged track. All moody and ominous, you’re hooked immediately. Etherton’s dead eyed delivery contrasting with Kasbohm’s lighter touch, almost like Kate Bush in the closing coda. I was immediately taken with this song and remains my favourite on the single.

Things conclude with ‘Maybe Never (prelude)’. The track is swathed in feedback, looming guitar tones, looping delay and deep dark fuzz. Underneath is a psychedelic sounding song peeking through the veil, Kasbohm’s vocal full of eastern promise. This has certainly piqued my interest in what the album version will sound like.

Listen is a stunning introduction to the world of Seems Like Forever. The band have cleverly given us three flavours of their sound and each is solid, each is utterly beguiling. This will certainly get fans appetites whetted for the full-length album we have been promised later in the year. Rest assured I’ll be covering that here on Static Sounds Club.

Listen is available now digitally and on super limited edition green coloured seven-inch vinyl over on the Seems Like Forever Bandcamp page.

You can follow Seems Like Forever on social media here…

Thee U.F.O – Beaming A Moments Reflection

Irish psychedelic label Fuzzed Up & Astromoon Records is a bit of an obsession of mine. Their lathe cut seven-inch series has introduced me to some amazing new bands. Among this illustrious list is Dublin’s Thee U.F.O. The label has released two singles and their previous album, Ponderous Fug. If you haven’t explored the band yet I can highly recommend this album and the single ‘Impish Delight’ in particular.

The band return with their new album, Beaming A Moments Reflection. Consisting of core members Darragh Hansard & Beth Doyle they have previously said in interviews their aim is to “create as much as possible”. Aiming for quantity might give you pause to think that quality would take a hit. You needn’t worry. Thee U.F.O have already released two singles from this album and both have been exceptional.

The album opens on the discordant tones of ‘Bursting Egos’. It isn’t long until the song explodes into life like some lost 13th Floor Elevators freak out. The cycling bass line and locomotive drums hold down the groove while the guitar heads off to outer space. Hansards vocal delivery is dynamic and swings from hushed to whoops and howls. It’s an incredibly assured and energetic way to open an album.

Next up is a recent single to be released from the album, the joyous ‘Junk Funk Garbage’.  For me the drums are what makes this track stand out. They never stop moving giving the this a whole new vibe to anything Thee U.F.O have released to date. “Can ya see? Can ya feel? Then Smile” preaches Hansard and we listen! The rest of the song is completed with stabbing guitar and smooth synth lines. If you missed this one on seven-inch now’s your chance to get it on the album.

‘Squashed Planets’ has a Kosmische feel right out the gate. The opening section feels very compressed and claustrophobic. Hansards vocal sounds like its coming from across the vast expanse and we are picking it up on our shortwave radio. Soon we are assaulted by power of fuzzed out guitar attack but its only momentary and we settle back into more gentle tones from the cosmos.

It’s another single next in the shape of the expansive and rhythmic ‘Surveyor’. Like a twisted ‘Taxman’ it sputters along like a firework nearing the end. It’s anxious and regulated rhythm section hold the line whilst the vocals float airily over the top of it all. It’s an utterly infectious jam and will have your head nodding and foot tapping.

‘Cell Map’ is another trademarked Thee U.F.O wig out. Like a bottle of electricity this song bursts out of every available corner of your speakers. Guitars shimmer like waterfalls in the sun, bass, heavy like dew on the grass.

The title track is next and in a complete change of pace and feel it’s an autumnal piece. Woodwind instruments play out a pastoral piece over a minimal drum beat. It’s an arresting change of direction but doesn’t feel out of place. It works as an intro to the final track of the album.

The album closes out with ‘In The Long Run They Queered’. This was the first track I heard from the album early last year and immediately played it on my DKFM Radio Show in May. This remains my favourite Thee U.F.O track to this day. The dreamlike atmosphere, steady pace and hooky melody its just sublime and the perfect way to round out this collection of tracks.

As someone who absolutely loves ‘Ponderous Fug’ I wasn’t sure what I was going to make of this album. Thankfully the band have once again produced an assured and confident album that is brimming with interesting detail and a good variety of styles. I can see Beaming A Moments Reflection clocking in a great many hours on my turntable.

Beaming A Moments Reflection is out now on digital via Thee U.F.O’s Bandcamp and on purple and white marble vinyl via Fuzzed Up and Astromoon Records.

You can follow Thee U.F.O on social media here…

The Hologram People – Isola Dei Morti Viventi

Dreamlord and Komische are up to their old tricks again as The Hologram People return with their new album Isola Dei Morti Viventi. Last time we caught up with our dynamic duo it was on 2022’s Village of the Snake God, an album which garnered them well earned high praise. This time Jonathan Parkes (AKA Dreamlord and Dom Keen (AKA Kosmische) are tackling another imagined soundtrack, this time for a “lost” Italio horror movie called Isola Dei Morti Viventi. The film, directed by Guiseppi Giovanni, was originally supposed to come out in 1977 but was shelved only to be rediscovered in 2020. It’s in this sphere that Keen and Parkes really shine. Their past Hologram People and releases as Studio Kosmische testify to that.

I was keen to find out more about how the guys work together to create these amazing soundtracks, here’s what they had to say.

“With both ‘Village of the Snake God’ and ‘Isola Dei Morti Viventi’ the concepts were all worked out first. We drafted a basic storyline and even had most of the song titles decided on before writing any music.”

“At the time of recording, we were living in different cities so everything was written at our respective home studios. Since last year we live down the road from each other so can get together any time we need to. The first session we recorded in the same room (after many years) turned into the recently released Studio Kosmische LP ‘Beyond the Circle of the Fixed Stars.’”

The album opens on the ominous tones of ‘The Green Inferno’, the opening notes almost like a ship’s horn in the fog. The swirling synths and electronic percussion creating a real sense of disorientation. As a listener this is really freeing as it allows you to surrender yourself to the journey ahead and go wherever the music takes you.

That place is the eerie island in question. ‘Night Sweats Parts 1 & 2’ next slips into a darkly funky groove early on, the bass and drums metering out the vibes whilst the synths add their touches of horror soundtrack motifs. It’s not long before guitar and keyboards lead us on a merry dance with a wailing saxophone adding its alluring affectations.  

It’s not long before we’re on a ‘Slow Cruise to Port Danger’. This number eschewing the horror genre for film noir. This could easily be the theme for a seventies gumshoe detective flick. That mournful trumpet and tasteful use of the Fender Rhodes creating a wonderfully tense ambience.

But, it’s over all too soon and it’s time to face the ‘Worst Case Scenario’. That phat bass and drum partnership brings the funk in buckets. The rest of the track is atmospheric, Kosmische sounds through which you can hear the wails and moans of the advancing zombie horde.

‘Love in the Jungle’ develops those Kosmische sounds into sharp focus all the while building the tension and sense of nervousness.

This leads very neatly into the menacing ‘Float the Conga’. The central bass motif here remains the constant as tribal drums, piano and mournful, wailing vocals slowly join in the dance. There’s something quite Gallic about this track. It harks to that same ambience Air created at times, particularly on their Virgin Suicides soundtrack. That said it is unmistakably a Hologram People number through and through.

That leads us to this albums centre piece and my stand out track. ‘Isola Dei Morti Viventi (Main Theme)’ has that European cinema vibe in spades. The rolling acoustic guitar line beckons us in and we are swept up in soaring choral vocals and dagger like guitar solos. This is the perfect microcosm of this collection of songs. Like some sort of musical summary. Uplifting yet full of menace and foreboding.

As if in complete contrast ‘Jungle Patrol’ is a short tone poem based around a swiftly moving keyboard arpeggio. It’s simultaneously bamboozling and beguiling.

The gnashing of teeth and groans of the undead lead us into ‘March of the Living Dead’. It’s sombre and oppressive vibe feels like leads right out of the themes established in ‘Float the Conga’.  Although the energy is quite different. The inevitability of our protagonist’s demise at the hands of the horde weighs heavy on our musical narrators.

We pause for another short tone poem in the shape of ‘Killer Chrysanthemum’. The arpeggios this time not as urgent but unhurried and measured.

A lone conga beats out the intro to ‘No Escape’ as we approach our end, literal and metaphorical. As the drum calls out the sound of the undead slowly fades to reveal a portentous, gloomy synth.  It’s clear, in the low foreboding coda, that not everyone has made it out alive.

‘Cocktail di Zombie’ takes us back into that noir world with its silky-smooth arrangement. You could imagine the band in the bar zombified and still laying down these jazzy grooves like the hip cats they once were.

The experience comes to a close with ‘The Survivors Return’. Optimism creeping in to its incredibly short run time with the lilting acoustic guitar and what sounds like an autoharp lightening the tone.

Once again, The Hologram People have created a whole world in the grooves of a record. A world where you can completely immerse yourself and get lost for its run time. They have a strange knack of creating music which inspires the imagination. Combined with the beautiful cover art and interesting song titles it all comes together to create a listening experience like no other.

Isola Dei Morti Viventi is out now via Dreamlord Recordings. You can grab a vinyl copy now over on Bandcamp.

You can follow The Hologram People on social media here…

Premiere: Virgins – s o f t e r

Following on from the release of the ‘Slowly, Long’ single last year, Belfast gazers Virgins are back with a brand new single and album announcement.

I’ve been following this band from day dot through the release of their stunning debut EP, Transmit a Little Heaven. Catching them live in Glasgow was an absolute treat and the sheer energy of their performance has been winning them a lot more fans than just me. The band on this record are Michael Smyth on guitar with David Sloan also on guitar, James Foy on drums, Brendy McCann on bass and Rebecca Dow on vocals. I was keen to find out more about this new track. The band had this to say.

“It’s a shoegaze tour-de-force built around a looping lead riff and the ethereal yearning vocals of Rebecca Dow. Gargantuan walls of dense, beautiful reverbs and dreamy fuzz, transport the listener to a world of abstract beauty and bliss.”

That pretty much nails it. From the hooky riff intro into the explosive drums thundering in ‘s o f t e r’ takes no prisoners. Dows vocals are given tons of space in the verses to weave her siren like spell. This is augmented by the glide guitar parts and tremolo picked stuff. Meanwhile holding it all down the bass provides a steady pulse, never sitting still for a moment.

‘s o f t e r’ is such an addictive track. I’ve had it on loop for a few weeks now and it’s not lost any of its freshness or energy. Speaking of energy check out the promo video directed and shot by Ebony Alexander and Michael Smyth.

The single accompanies the announcement of their eagerly anticipated debut album, nothing hurt and everything was beautiful due out April 11th via Blowtorch Records on a pressing of 300 starburst vinyl. Those who pre-order the album via Virgins Bandcamp page will be treated to an instant download of an exclusive non-album track, ‘g l i s s’. A track that in the band’s own words, “is the bridge from the EP to the album, a sonic clue that nods to what came before but looks forward to what is about to come.”

Rest assured, I’ll be back soon with a full break down of the album.

Tour Dates

Virgins will play two album launch parties:

April 26th

Belfast – Deers Head

April 27th,

Dublin – Sin E

You can follow Virgins on social media here…

Photo credit

Ebony Alexander Media

The Asteroid No.4 – Tremble EP

My burgeoning love affair with the world of psyche rock has provided me with so many amazing bands to enjoy. Some even dovetail neatly with my other big musical love affair, shoegaze. Falling squarely into that category are Californians; The Asteroid No.4. They’re a self-described shoegaze, dream pop and psychedelic band. Originally formed in Philadelphia in the late 1990s, they’ve remained an active studio and live act, and are highly thought of on the scene. Since forming, the band has had several lineup changes. Over the last ten years, however, they have consistently included Scott Vitt (vocals, guitar), Eric Harms (guitar) and Matty Rhodes (bass, vocals).  Drummer Mark Tarlton (formerly of Echodrone) joined the band in the Summer of 2020.

As a johnny come lately fan I joined the A4 fan club after buying 2022’s release Tones Of The Sparrow. It was my kind of reverb drenched goodness plus it came out on Club AC30 which is a by word for quality to me.I couldn’t believe it when I found out it was their eleventh album.

Now they return to us, this time joining Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes label, Silver Arrow Records for their new EP; Tremble.

The EP opens with the title track. The song emerges from the feedback already fully formed. An eighties goth style synth piano taps out over powerful fuzzed out guitars. Those trademark reverbed vocals aren’t far behind and we’re away. The French spoken word section really makes this track stand out!

‘Dandelion’ comes in fast and strong off a machine gun drum intro., This is my kinda gaze, loud-quiet-loud. The summery lyrics are a nice contrast to the metallic tones the band are pulling off. As always, the vocals and harmonies provide a warm blanket of reverby goodness to pull it all together.

There’s something about the intro to ‘Sky Blue’ that reminds me of Ride in their prime. The song quickly morphs into a dual vocal delight. When The Asteroid No 4 choose to lighten up their tone and head into dream pop territory they absolutely nail it every time. I mean, just check out the chorus here. It’s utterly euphoric.

It’s right back into psyche territory as we head for ‘Bad Fruit’. The droning intro into those huge chiming guitars just takes you away into another dimension. When the shimmering vocals appear it just locks us in and it’s soaring through space we go.

The EP closes out with a slice of eighties synth pop in ‘Hollyhock Way’. You could almost envisage the band in eighties clobber in the studio recording this. The song skips along, drums absolutely leading the way. Guitars meander in and out, never intruding on the glorious vocal. A beautiful way to finish.

These five songs are reportedly from the Tones of the Sparrow sessions but for me they stand together and bookend that period of the band’s creativity quite neatly.

Head over to The Asteroid No.4 Bandcamp now to grab a copy of the EP digitally or Amazon for a vinyl copy. Finishing on even better news as the band have finalised the recording of what will be their 12th full length album, slated for release in summer, 2024.

Follow The Asteroid No.4 on social media here…

Os Overdoses – All Killers! No Feelers!

Weird story to tell you. So, there I was walking home, it was late and the streets were deserted. All of a sudden, this car screams to a halt beside me and three people jump out grab me and throw me in the boot of the car. Now I find myself in a derelict building tied to a chair with this laptop in front of me. I’ve been told I have to write a review for the debut album from Queens band Os Overdoses. They say the album is called All Killers! No Feelers! and I’m not getting untied. I’ve to type with my nose.

My captors are Janet, Joey and Johnny, three low-life scoundrels from Forest Hills, Queens who are currently exiled in Morto., Portugal, having been pursued by the feds for years due to charges of corrupting the American youth and inciting violent crime.

These days, they tend to channel their psychopathic tendencies in old school rock n’ roll riffing, creepy droning, terrifying lyrics about their experience in the underbelly of organized crime and drum machine rhythms in the place where their former drummers (who have disappeared under mysterious circumstances) used to be. They’re probably dead.

Apparently, I will be too if this review doesn’t kick ass so I best get to it.

The album opens on lead single and statement of intent ‘Fall Guy For Murder’. Programmed lead into a scuzzy and hypnotic guitar riff that layers up to create a mesmerising drone. The title chanted like a cultist’s prayer is as hooky as it gets. “She is going to kill” however is the line I find myself chanting along to. The punky guitar solo to close is the only fitting way to bookend this opening salvo.

‘Grave Business’ maintains that aesthetic of a 50’s doo wop band on meth. It’s a downright dirty sounding track and if you’re not at least tapping your foot along withing a few seconds you must be dead inside. I wouldn’t let the band catch you or you probably will be. I couldn’t help but smile at the nod to ‘Surfin Bird’ as well.

The terrible trio are back at their hypnotic game on ‘Hey Man’. Opening like a lost Nuggets track it grows into a potent garage rock stomper swathed in a multi coloured psychedelic cape. That cyclical guitar riff is the perfect foil to the cosmic modular sounds going off in the background. The vocals get downright threatening at one point which is most apt from my captors. Amazing what can be achieved with two chords and a ton of attitude.

The band lighten things up with ‘Practical Choke’. The programmed beats are augmented with a cool Casio tone synth motif that creates a hook which permeates the whole song. The guitar solo wig out is potent but, unusually, isn’t placed up front in the mix. This really appeals to me as a shoegazer.

The pace drops ever so slightly for the casual swagger through ‘Dead Ringer’. Whilst they maintain that hypnotic two chord approach in the verses, the chorus is a joyous and uplifting sing along. If the band pull a second single from the album, I’d steer them towards this one, that is, if they didn’t have me tied to a chair.

Our anti-heroes are in ebullient form on ‘From Here To Insanity’. Those boy girl vocals playing off each other over a fuzzed-up rock ‘n’ roll opus. I’m amazed how they manage to make each song sound fresh and vital whilst maintain that droning signature vibe. Ther energy levels only get more amped as the song continues, more musical layers joining the throng.

‘Creep In The Deep’ is a sprawling psyche rock jam with some 50’s surf rock touches in that opening section. It’s soon heads down and a slowly intensifying jam takes us home. This will undoubtedly be absolutely electric when seen live.

The album closes out on ‘Rain of Ruin’ which opens like some lost 13th Floor Elevators track, well, if they had a Casio keyboard as a drummer! Guitars come in ten feet tall and dominate from the outset. The bass riff (that is a bass riff, right?) is the essence of cool. If a riff could swagger in, this would be that one. Vocals sway from low growls to high yelps and punctuate the sonic storm. This is undoubtedly my album highlight and the perfect way to end this album and kidnapping.

If ever there was a great snapshot of a band finding and defining there sound it’s All Killers! No Feelers!. There’s a solid pulsing thread of psyche and garage rock throughout that Os Overdoses have formed their musical weapons from. You are going to love this album. You better, If you don’t, you too might find yourself where I am now. Remember Os Overdoses know where you live.

 All Killers! No Feelers! will be released via Socorro Records for EU orders, Dirty Filthy Records for UK orders and Echodelick Records in the US on February 10th.

You can follow Os Overdoses on social media here…

Karkara – Anthropia

After the new release from Slift we are back in Toulouse France with another powerhouse psychedelic rock band. Formed in 2019, Karkara are a psychedelic rock band composed of Karim Rihani (guitar/vocals), Hugo Olive (bass/synth) and Maxime Marouani (drums/vocals).  This amazing band has since played over a hundred concerts in France and Europe and released two albums (‘Crystal Gazer’ in 2019 and ‘Nowhere Land’ in 2020), with UK label Stolen Body Records. Influenced by The Oh Sees, King Gizzard, King Crimson and Black Sabbath. I was lucky enough to catch them live on their last stop off in Glasgow and it was a face meltingly good show. How to describe their music though…… I’ll let the band take this one.

“The power trio delivers a dose of uninterrupted psych rock that’s both furious and hypnotic. Screaming amps, supercharged drums and vocals that blend sweet melancholy with desperate rage. On stage, KARKARA manage to recreate this hypnotic fury, revealing to the audience a sound, an identity and an energy that instantly grabs you by the gut.”

They have just announced their third album and you can count on it that I’ll be back to talk more about that in a later blog. In the meantime, we have teaser single ‘Anthropia’.

It’s cosmic track pondering on an idyllic life somewhere out there. Opening on the coolest riff and chord progression it lays out the key themes of the track before Rihani’s foot hits the trademark Karkara wah wah sound and into the song we go. There’s not an inch of flab on this track, every second vital and propelling the song ever forward. If this is the teaser, I can’t wait to hear the album itself. Enjoy the video here for yourself.

Karkara’s third album, All Is Dust, is due for release on March 22th, through Exag Records (Belgium), Le Cèpe Records (France) and Stolen Body Records (UK).

You can follow Karkara on social media here…

Photo Credits

Jessica Calvo

RABO

Orchids – Orchids

It’s always a pleasure to hear from Belfast musical mastermind Michael Smyth. You’ll know Michael as the ball of energy that plays guitar for shoegazers Virgins. He’s now about to release something really special.

Orchids are a unique project featuring some of the best female/non-binary vocalists from Northern Ireland and brings together some of the finest musicians, producers, engineers, mix and mastering engineers to create an album that stands alone as a creative endeavour.

Here’s what Michael had to say on this amazing project.

“This massive undertaking began following the dissolution of a previous project. I was left with nine recorded songs, featuring Emma Rose on bass and Matthew Milner on drums, but in need of vocals. Unwilling to let these songs wither and die on the vine, I sought a solution that would give the songs the audience they deserved and a way to breathe new life into them.”

“Written with a female vocal in mind, I made the decision to reach out to a number of female/non-binary vocalists from Northern Ireland, inviting them to lend their considerable talents to and feature on a number of different tracks.”

 This sounds like it’s going to be a bit special so let’s dive straight in.

The album opens on the punk fury of ‘Revolution’ featuring the powerhouse vocals of Belfast musician Daisy Johnston. We’re coming out the gate at speed with power chords and machine gun drums. The chorus is a chant of “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be a part of your revolution” which is a quote taken from the anarchist revolutionary Emma Goldman. It’s there that the song morphs into glam rock stomp for that brief moment. It’s really unusual and has made this a real ear worm for me.

Following this Smyth teams up with Melyssa Shannon of Wynona Bleach on ‘Memoria’. There’s no let up in pace as the whip crack of the drums ushers the ferocious guitars in. Shannon is dynamic form delivering a barn storming performance. Smyths off kilter guitar solo adding some slacker texture to the breaks. Shannon owns this song and gives every ounce of herself to the vocal delivery.

This leads us into the relative calm of ‘Hourglass’, the first of three tracks featuring Smyth’s Virgins band mate Rebecca Dow. Dow provides a measured and carefully constructed performance. This is brought into sharp focus in the break where Smyths forlorn howl contrasts with her on the button, sharp as a tack delivery.

Dow appears again leading the way on ‘Run’ next. This one leans into that shoegaze aesthetic that we’re so used to hearing her in as lead singer of Virgins. It’s the drums that first caught my ear here though. Milners speedy rolls through the verses explode into half time flourishes in the choruses. And man, those choruses. They are huge, a wall of fuzz suddenly envelopes you and throws you around mercilessly.  Is that I xylophone I hear in the mix latterly too? Another really nice textural choice to contrast with the heaviness of the chorus.

Next up is my album stand out track, ‘Mannequin’. Stepping up to then mic this time it’s Siânna from Tramp. Their voice is unlike anything I’ve heard before. A truly unique style that leans into their accent to create something other worldly. The track is bass led leaning into that post hardcore vibe. Guitars chiming over verses and erupting over the choruses. Lyrically Sianna has this to say. “These are thoughts from inside the AFAB (assigned female at birth) body about ways we are still unfree.  With the lyrics immediately painting imagery of ‘the Red-Light District”. This is a thrilling track start to finish and I always go back and play, just one more time, on each listen.

‘Do Better’ next brings in the vocal talents of Clodagh May. It’s a taught and vital rebuke of virtue signalling, self-righteousness and band wagoning when it comes to women and LGBTQ+ rights. Musically the band keep it simple allowing May’s lyrics and performance to firmly take the lead. It’s a propulsive riff laden track that really opens up on those massive choruses. It’s no wonder this was chosen as a single.

Frances Ellen of Effie fronts up for ‘Sins’. Her voice bringing a lighter, emotional more direct link to the message behind the song. Guitars are reined in to a more jangly sound to be an appropriate foil for Ellen’s stunning voice. I particularly love the guitar solo, losing none of its impact through dialling back the fuzz. The production choices on ‘Sins’ are genius and really speak to skill of the team pulling all this together.

‘Smile’ sees the return of Melyssa Shannon of Wynona Bleach. This song is perfect for her style of singing. She’s a born rock star and she gets the opportunity to display her complete range here. Musically the song really teases us before unleashing its full force in the chorus. Verses are taught and loaded with tension before the chorus kicks in like a steel toe capped kiss.

The album closes out with the return of Rebecca Dow one last time for ‘And Ghosts’. There’s more than a nod to the ballads of the eighties in those guitars over the expansive verses. As the chorus appears the gazey tones bring us bang up to date. Performances are on point throughout only befitting the final track of an album of this quality.

Orchids is a stunning release that showcases both the vitality in the Northern Irish alternative music scene at the moment whilst providing some much-needed social commentary. When musicians lean into socio political themes the tendency can be let the lyrics carry the song. Not so with Orchids. With some serious talent behind the scenes namely Smyth, Rose and Milners performances not to mention the mixing talents of Jonny Woods, the music partners the lyrics. They join hands and lift this album even higher. That’s the power of these tracks, you don’t just listen to this album. You feel it.

Orchids is out on January 31 on Spotify.

You can follow Orchids on social media here…

Bride – Paralysis

It’s not often I get the chance to shout about one of our local bands but today I get to do just that. Hailing from Inverclyde, Bride have just released their latest single and you need to hear it.

The band was formed in 2021 by Aedan Mcvey and Charlie McQueen (guitarists) who both shared the same interests in music. In the following months, Lewis Rorrison (drums) and Luke Harkins (bass) joined, and Caragh Power (singer) joined in September 2022 completing the 5-piece band.

This latest single, ‘Paralysis’ is only the bands third single after ‘Lost Cause’ and ‘Tuesday Nights’. Both previous singles are absolute belters and have generated a lot of buzz around these parts. Theres a raw and loose feel that bands from the west coast of Scotland excel at but that’s only first impressions. When you really get into these tracks there’s a strong shoegaze and post punk influence that really speaks to me.

‘Paralysis’ is about the subject of sleep paralysis and how Power really struggles with it. Caragh commented ‘The song talks about the fear of the subject but how over time, it can become less of a fear and more of a routine’.

That wash of reverb across the guitars in the intro hark back to eighties new wave or goth bands but when Powers vocal enters the mix it’s obvious this is no nostalgia trip. Bride make great use of dynamics throughout this number, dropping down to bass and drums before Powers primal scream ushers the band back in again.

This song deserves to be a smash for the band and it’s left me dying to hear more from Bride. I hope an album isn’t too far away. If anything, I’m just happy to know I’m not the only shoegazer in the village.

You can listen to ‘Paralysis’ on your favourite streaming service now.

You can follow Bride on social media here.

Photo credit

Keira Walker

Slift – Ilion

Not that long ago now a good friend of mine pointed me to a YouTube video of a KEXP session. I hadn’t heard of the band before but I kinda like exploring new sounds so I popped my headphones in and hit play. The session was recorded at the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes and that band were Slift. That video of a live performance of the title track from their Ummon album blew my tiny mind. How could a three-piece band produce this all-consuming wall of sound? That video, I later discovered, had become a viral sensation racking up more than 1.4 million YouTube views. Deservedly so. I absolutely devoured their back catalogue and have been eagerly awaiting what they were going to do next.

SLIFT is made up of brothers Jean and Remí Fossat and Canek Flores, who first met the brothers Fossat at school. With two studio and one live album under their belts they’ve now made the move to Sub Pop after their successful singles club release with the label in late 2023. Their third album is now out and is called Ilion after the Ancient Greek word for the city of Troy and, conceptually speaking, picks up where UMMON left off. The band describe the album as follows.

“This is an album constructed in the manner of a Homeric story. Where the two records differ is that Ilion is about human emotions and feelings, whereas Ummon was telling an epic story with a distant view. Ilion represents the fall of humanity and the rebirth of all things in time and space.”

Each of the eight tracks on show is expansive, with the exception of one track all clock in upwards of eight minutes. Let’s dive in and get lost in this new world Slift have created for us.

We open on the title track, Jean Fosset’s primal vocal as ever providing the biting point that the song hangs on. It’s his brothers stunning bass work that caught my ear immediately. It sounds like they’ve joined Led Zep for a moment. It’s that trademark Slift wall of noise that carries us into the album. Briefly punctuated by a calming Kosmische interlude before we are called back to the action again with the war cry from Jean. By the time we reach the closing moments we’ve entered Black Sabbath territory which leads us neatly into the next track.

It’s with a 70’s prog flourish that we enter headlong at full speed into ‘Nimh’. Again, just listen to the bass create the complex framework for the heavy guitars to play on. That ascending chord sequence, (you’ll know it when you hear it) just gets me buzzing every time. This feels like a journey at breakneck speed through the galaxy and into the void. The almost ambient break in the middle felt like emerging from a black hole into some new existence before the band return, doomier and sludgier than before to welcome us to our new reality.

A galactic clock ticking ushers in ‘The Words That Have Never Been Said’. Not for long though, Jean’s roar leads the charge as the band appear, all at once, amps set to infinity. Things soon settle into a more jazzy, more free flowing form. With Flores rolling around his toms and the dancing around the songs core structure it’s not long before we slow down to an atmospheric breakdown before returning, more furious than ever to the animated and lively spaced-out sounds. There’s something intoxicating about that rolling rhythm, ever shifting and undulating. This song casts a spell over the listener and has you in it’s thrall until the closing notes.

Things lean into jazz territory with the serpentine sax solo opening ‘Confluence’. It’s epic space jazz though. What we have is the sound of the cosmos passing by as we exit the milky way for destinations unknown. When Jean’s spiralling guitar kicks in its almost in complete sympathy to the sax part, as if passing the baton in some intergalactic relay. That slowly evolves ushering in a harder sound to close out.

The band wind the clock back to mediaeval times with the druidic chanting of ‘Weavers Weft’. This feels like a very modern take on seventies prog. The psychedelia is turned up to the max whilst ramping up the utter ferocity of the guitar textures. It almost enters doom metal territory in places. Always pulling back though to allow the core themes of the song shine through. This track is the sound of the band revelling in experimentation and it really suits them.

‘Uruk’ begins with the eeriest of riffs. Like some long-lost soundtrack to a forgotten horror movie. Remi takes up vocal duties allowing his higher register to add to the atmosphere of mystery and supernatural shenanigans. Jean’s guitar sounds different here. In the quieter movements its thinner and more vulnerable than usual. However, when this song explodes that impenetrable sonic assault returns and we are helpless to it.

The 12-minute odyssey that is ‘The Story That Has Never Been Told’ begins innocently enough. Spaced out synths and lightly picked out guitar plays foil to the brother’s chorister like vocals. Guitars start to ramp up into a ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ like arpeggio laden delivery. The band never venture into that doom metal sound across the expanse of this track which really makes it leap out the speakers. Especially that frenetic and joyous closing section. The sheer abandon is infectious and you are just swept up and taken along for the ride.

The album closes out on a highly experimental piece of electronica. ‘Enter the Loop’ throws us one final curveball as the band create a dense soundscape populated by arrhythmic drums, washes of modular synth and metallic feedback.  It’s so alien and unnerving. Slift choose to leave us on edge and wondering what we have just experienced. It’s a bold and ballsy way to close out an album and I applaud them for it.

Ilion is yet another statement album from Slift. This band have always been sonic explorers but on Ilion that exploration has taken them to somewhere I don’t think they even though they would end up. This isn’t one of those albums you can just pop on and enjoy a side of. This album demands your full attention because, like it or not, you’re going on a journey to places you never even knew existed. There’s so much to enjoy here for fans of post rock, shoegaze, psyche, prog,,, hell, even folk music. You owe it to yourself to put aside one hour and 19 minutes of your day to disappear into the grooves of this album. Who knows where it’ll take you.

Ilion is out now on Sub Pop Records. There’s a few lovely vinyl variants as well as CD and digital options too.

You can follow Slift on social media here…

Upcoming Tour Dates

Sun Shines Cold – Until The End EP

Welcome to the beginning of another year here on Static Sounds Club. I’m kicking off 2024 with an EP I have been really enjoying over my Xmas, Birthday and New Year break.

Regular readers will remember us discussing Scottish goth-tinged gazers Sun Shines Cold a few months back as they launched their debut album Echoes of a Former Life. The band have the power of Jesus and Mary Chain with subtlety and atmospherics of bands like Joy Division and The Cure. To close out 2023 the band decided to revisit four of their most popular singles for the remaster treatment as well as including two new songs for the Until The End EP.

I asked Colan Miles from the band to give us the lowdown on the EP.

“1991 Recordings set up a Bandcamp page for remixes remasters and joint ventures between artists. John (Wellby) suggested he remastered some of our early work for a release on this page and we decided that it would be good to add a couple of new tracks with a similar instrumental post rock/gaze vibe.”

“We picked ‘Blind’ and ‘Forty-Five’ as they were our first releases and were never really mastered anyway. ‘Lights’ because the instrumental is more powerful than the vocal version and ‘Silver’ because it was an afterthought put on the end of our Black of Beyond EP however when we released the video it got 65,000 plays on YouTube. We know we must have lucked out on an algorithm but it seems quite a few folks liked it. We think the remasters give the tracks a real lift.”

The EP opens with two new songs. First up is the title track. To my mind the bands most accomplished composition to date. Theres a great use of dynamics throughout as we veer from chiming goth guitars into a fuzzed-out wall of sound. Its stadium sized throughout and when that chorus section hits, it hits hard. The two guitar lines play off each other beautifully creating a real ear candy moment.

That’s followed by ‘Where We End and You Begin’. We enter post rock territory with the slow burn of the atmospheric intro section slowly blossoming into the chiming call and response of the guitars. The closing moments, a quiet crescendo, a fitting end to this beautiful number.

‘Silver’ opens on the effected bass, echoing some lost Cure song or Cocteau Twins moment. The guitars and drums working in tandem to build the foundation for the wash of reverb. Like a great wave hitting the shore the song explodes into life and ebbs and flows, much like the tide.

From the ocean to the wintery expanse of ‘Lights’ next as the glacial synths and guitars build an icy world of spiky guitar and sheets of thunderous bass. This is one of the most dramatic Sun Shines Cold tracks with its very definite drum beat and contrasting guitar lines playing off each other.

‘Forty Five’ warms things up with its gentile opening section like the embers of a fire. The moment this track catches flame and bursts into the most majestic bonfire of tumbling synths and guitar. It really takes your breath away.

The EP closes on the forward leaning ‘Blind’. This driving track leads with a pulsing bassline before the rest of the band slowly join in to create a real journey of a song. You feel the passage of miles as we travel at speed through the undulating tones and catchy riffs. It’s a great way to finish because you’re left wanting more and that means heading back to the start for another play.

The Until The End EP is, once again, a powerful collection of songs that only reinforce the high regard I hold for Sun Shines Cold. The darkness in their music is always tempered by an optimistic note which always catches me unawares making me smile.

You can grab a digital copy of the Until The End EP from the 1991 Recordings Bandcamp page now.

You can follow Sun Shines Cold on social media here…

Lushen Tides – Perfect Moments

As someone who is in a DIY shoegaze band himself, I really appreciate it when like-minded souls reach out with their projects. I was so happy to hear from Jonathan Lee, a self-professed lone gazer from Derbyshire in England. He has just released his debut album under the name Lushen Tides.

Perfect Moments is, at its heart, Lee’s love letter to shoegaze. He has had some help from guest vocalists Angie Henton and Anna Sharpe Jones as well as some bass guitar from Alan Brown. On the whole though this is essentially all his own work. Lee had this to say.

“I adore the concept of Shoegaze. Fuzz drenched guitars, dreamy distant vocals and heavily processed beats, all mixing together to form an incredibly rich sonic wall of lush harmonics. I believe I have captured this shoegaze essential essence fully in the tracks presented on Perfect Moments and can’t wait to share it with the world at large. “

Sounds like its going to be right up my street, Lets dive in and find out.

The album kicks off with lead single ‘Things Fall Apart’. A static filled intro suddenly drops to silence and an epic soundscape erupts from the speakers that takes the breath from you. The balance between breathy vocals and the pounding assault of the bass led guitars is spot on. I love how he layers in a screeching feedback squall which quickly becomes fundamental to the melody. Very clever stuff.

That bass assault continues into ‘Lysheen’. What occurs to me immediately is, Robin Guthrie would kill for this song. It feels like the perfect blend between that dreamy Cocteau Twins sound and Lee’s own brand of sonics. This is where music is at its most exciting, that blending of approaches, genres and styles. This album is off to an incredible start.

It’s the turn of the title track next, taking the pace way down. You would be mistaken though if you thought a slower song would be any less intense. That all-consuming fuzz is the gauze through with the song peers, emerging like the sun from behind storm clouds. That decision to put the wall of fuzz front and centre is inspired and is very much the Lushen Tides brand.

‘Red Sea Corpses’ is powerful, punchy track blending a dreamy descending guitar line against a booming, melodic bassline. The chorus is particularly affecting. Lee pleads “Don’t look at the sea, please” over this guitar line which reaches a glorious crescendo sending the song heavenwards.

We enter a neon lit futurescape for ‘Rise and Fall’. Adopting a synthwave angle feels entirely appropriate. Lee proves himself incredibly adept at crafting that warm and sultry sound making it all his own. Theres a grand instrumental breakdown mid-way through which gives you goosebumps when it resolves back into the song again.

‘Colder’ is a song of contrasts. The harsh static driven wall of noise versus the calm a beautifully delivered vocal. Not to mention the moments of calm mid song and at the end. The one binding factor, the glue holding it all together is the melodic bassline. Driving the whole song along.

In a similar vein comes ‘Talk to Me’. I can see why these songs are next to each other. This almost feels like a response to the claustrophobia of ‘Colder’. Its grand chorus, all sweeping synth chords are a release, an escape into the skies. Flying high and free.  

Keeping us on our toes next comes the almost ballad, ‘Runaway’. I say almost as for the most part this is a luscious dreamy, woozy number. Then, out of the ether bursts that fuzzed out guitar sound, punctuating our dream. It’s only momentary as the dreamy tones return lulling us back to our dreams. Oh, but it’s not over, that final minute is epic!! I’ll say no more but that caught me out and had me smiling ear to ear!

There’s an undercurrent of psychedelia in ‘Sudden Light Shines’. A combination of its cyclical, hypnotic bassline and swirling guitars. Theres no other word for this song but massive. You’re gonna need bigger speakers.

The album closes out with ‘Truth or Lies’. A sprawling, atmospheric bookend to the album. The absence of any drums, and with the bass taking more of a backseat, allow the guitars to shine. And shine they do, glistening and shimmering in equal measure. This is a glorious way to close off this stunning collection of songs.

I said earlier that this album is Lee’s love letter to shoegaze, but it’s more than that. As you listen through Perfect Moments you can tell that Lee has a deep and profound understanding of genre. Not only that but all the sub genres from dreampop, through synthwave and more. It’s all here. All wrapped up in his own unique take. Having your ‘own sound’ as a shoegaze artist is a bit of a holy grail. As someone who’s chased that sound for decades I can attest to Lee’s success in that search.

Perfect Moments is out now and available from the Lushen Tides Bandcamp page.

Follow Lushen Tides on social media here…

93millionmilesfromthesun – Buried Dreams EP

Doncaster’s 93MillionMilesFromTheSun have been responsible for some key shoegaze moments over the years. From 2008’s self-titled debut all the way up to album eight, Why Do We Fall Apart their music has been the soundtrack to many a gazers life. As you may know the magician behind the curtain is Nick Noble, a multi-instrumentalist who’s as talented as he is humble.  

Ahead of the release of album number nine in the new year he’s set to release the Buried Dreams EP. He’s recruited some help in the form of Jase Burns, Richard Myers and John Wellby to fill out the sound on this one and is releasing it on the fast-rising 1991 Recordings label. All signs are pointing towards this being a bit special. Only one way to find out.

We open on the title track and its an expansive, moody behemoth of a song. The My Bloody Valentine vibes are strong which appeals to me no end. The simplicity of the chords only makes the ever-increasing layers of fuzz more impactful as the song progresses. It’s a powerful opener and sets the scene well.

The pace remains low bpm as we head into ‘Our Love Begins’. This tightly wound number trades vocoder lines against walls of guitars and synths bringing to mind latter day Mogwai. It’s a really sultry, smoky number that grabs you from the opening notes until the final wash of reverb fades out.

The gothic tinged Through ‘The Blink Of An Eye’. Revolving a hypnotic three chord cycle it webs and flows whilst layer upon layer of fuzz is added bringing it to life. Noble had this to say about the song.

“This track I’ve had for a while and it was just a repetitive instrumental that I thought had something but didn’t really know what to do with. A guy who I work with, Roy had been coming round to the studio and he had this part that he thought would work so we tried it and that became the middle bit. We re-recorded it and I added vocals right at the end. I’m pretty sure this would still be sat on my hard drive if it wasn’t for Roy’s input. He also came up with the title.”

Next up ‘Hold On’ just explodes out the speakers with a bassline that absolutely shook me to my back teeth. This is one potent track that will absolutely kill when played live. It just drives ever forward and the blend of synths and layered guitars are perfectly balanced. It’s utterly captivating making it my EP highlight.

The EP closes with a reprise of the title track. Centred around looped reversed section of the song it brings a fresh energy and optimistic vibe to the song. It’s the comforting effect of your favourite shoegaze album all wrapped up in one song. No mean feat and the perfect way to close out this fabulous EP.

If this is any indicator of what’s to come then I can’t wait to hear the new 93millionmilesfromthesun in the new year. Releasing at this time of year can always be fraught as everyone focuses on their end of year lists. This EP succeeds though because it leans into that need for comfort and warmth that we all feel in the run up to the festive season. It’s a really smart move and will pay dividends for the band. I’ve been playing this EP multiple times daily since it landed here at the clubhouse and I won’t be stopping any time soon.

The Buried Dreams EP is out now on 1991 Recordings and is available from their Bandcamp page now.

You can follow 93millionmilesfromthesun on social media here…

SERVO – Monsters

Long time readers of the blog will know how happy I am when I get an email from those maggots over at Dirty Filthy Records. Today see’s the release of Monsters, the third album from French three-piece SERVO. To date the band have released their debut opus The Lair of Gods before going on release their second album, Alien, via the good folks at Fuzz Club.

Comprised of Arthur Pierre (guitar/vocals), Louis Hebert (bass/vocals) and Hugo Magontier (drums/vocals) the band have a clear agenda with their music.

“The music is to serve the live. Create a powerful and immersive show. Each track is blessed by brutality and heaviness. An assault of trance-inducing noise and blinding flashes of light”

You know me, I love my music heavy so let’s drop the needle and see where it takes us.

The album opens on the downright filthy ‘Island’. The squall of feedback and discordant notes ushers in a hypnotic pulsing behemoth of a track. This is dark stuff with that uses dynamics in the mix to great effect. That false stop is really impactful. Pierres vocals varies from quite matter of fact delivery to screaming at the top of his lungs.

We emerge into ‘Glitch 2.1’ amped up and ready for it. This one feels like it’s constantly on the very brink of chaos, of exploding into the ether. The verses pare it back but the threat remains, looming in the shadowy darkness. When it does explode into screaming, it’s only a transitory moment but it leaves you breathless.

SERVO aren’t letting the pace up. ‘Day and Night Monsters’ comes tearing in all wonky bass and motorik drums. There are shades of Idles in the vocal delivery. The chorus is like this moment of unity in the chaos of the maelstrom. The groups voices joining together to chant the song title.

That unity continues next as ‘Interlude’ comes in like some modern monastic prayer. It’s like a palate cleanser before we get ready to throw ourselves headfirst back into the fray.

And the fray is in full effect on ‘Peaks’. A call and response between the duotone of the bass and the cosmic energy of the guitar. The vocals are more otherworldly than anything so far on the album. It’s a really unique approach and makes this my album highlight.

A metallic, industrial sounding percussion leads us into ‘Stadium’. The bass, all fuzzed out creates the foundation for the band to create a really smooth and silky track. When the fuzz disappears, the bass is revealed in all its glory. Swear to god I had to double check it wasn’t Jah Wobble. If you’re looking for a first track to explore, I’d highly recommend this one.

‘Thank You/Maniac’ lulls you into false sense of security with a chilled synth arpeggio before pummelling your senses from every angle. Again, check out the acrobatic basslines on show here. Absolutely blinding stuff from Hebert. I can imagine this one being particularly riotous when performed live.

That false start thing is employed again on ‘Who Else Likes Surprises’. This sounds like a song Joy Division could’ve made if they had more emphasis on the joy. It’s just so dynamic with loads going on to keep your ear tuned in, you just never know what’s going to happen next. This is exceptional stuff.

The album closes out on the sprawling epic that is ‘Giants’. Once again, I challenge you to try and keep up with this one. The bass and guitars constantly growling at each other like two stray dogs fighting over a bone. Vocals veering from that spoken style to the gothic crooning before exploding into full on screamo. Even the full stop of an ending caught me off guard. I’m genuinely breathless after that one.

SERVO have created an outstanding album that veers from that dark, post-punk noise-rock sound through heavy psych rock into almost 80’s goth. It’s a furiously paced album and demands your full attention as it throws curve ball after curve ball at you. What strikes me more than anything though is the life in these songs. They are full of the joy of creation and performance leading me to believe that this is a band you will want to catch live.

Monsters is out now, released in conjunction with EXAG Records, Le Cepe Records and Dirty Filthy Records.

You can follow SERVO on social media here…

Photo Credit

Carine Mansire

Julie Jarosz

Melody Fields – 1991

In my previous blog I explored 1901, the new album from Gothenburg’s Melody Fields. They have now dropped 1991 the second of their albums to release this year. What can we expect from the band this time around? Here’s what they had to say.

“1991 takes a different approach as a concept album that evolved from late-night jam sessions, experimental sounds, and danceable music. It presents four collaborations including contributions from GOAT and Al Lover, which inject new life into the original composition ’Jesus’ from the previous album, 1901. The collaborations offer fresh perspectives and invigorating interpretations, breathing new energy into the music and allowing it to evolve further.”

This sounds like it’s going to be a completely different creature altogether. Only one way to find out, let’s drop the needle.

From the very opening refrain of ‘Hallelujah we’re transported to the early nineties. Luscious synths and housey house pianos set this one dead centre of the dancefloor in the Hacienda. Somehow the band maintain that psychedelic edge throughout defining this as a Melody Fields song. Vocals never reach the front of the mix adding to that trippy, hypnotic effect. This is a bold new direction and one the band own every second of. What could so easily have slipped into nostalgia porn instead becomes a celebration of that time that transcends the years.

The closing bars feature that ever-familiar glide guitar effect I love so much. That segues neatly into the utterly euphoric ‘Blasphemy’. For an old shoegazer like me this track had me smiling ear to ear throughout. The synth melody in the verse sections is such a bright and shiny contrast to those pulsing and grinding guitars. This is the very essence of that 1991 shoegaze sound and I could listen to it all day.

Next up is a dub / house reworking of ‘Jesus’ from previous album 1901. That powerful horn section now a serpentine, languid synth pad. Vocals more muted now, as if heard from a distance. Front and centre it’s drums and bass all the way retooling this number for the late-night dance floor.

‘Dandelion’ comes in all pounding drums and guitar riffing. The sixties psychedelic sound looms large in the vocal delivery and sitar-like guitar soloing. I am immediately thinking of Fifth Dimension era Byrd’s recordings which is my favourite era of their output. It’s that cool circular guitar riff that is the thread that everything else is relying on. It’s a great lesson in less is more.

‘Talking With Jesus’ presents a late night take on ‘Jesus’. This is very much post party in the chillout room. I can see this popping up in a future Back to Mine compilation. The laid-back approach carries us off to smoke filled rooms populated with the diehards from the party. Wringing every last moment of the night before mornings light sends us home again.

There’s a shift in tone next with ‘Diary of a Young Man’. Like a souped-up 13th Floor Elevators meets the Mary Chain. It’s a super saturated track dominated by the scuzzy, fuzzed out guitars and almost tribal drumming when in the final minute it all disappears, replaced with a distant lone female voice in the wilderness. Which acts a neat segue into ‘Bhagavana Najika Cha’.

This is a wonderful mash up of eastern influenced psyche with the cosmic, spacey explorations of space rock. The eerily echoing chants of the vocals weave into the flute and screaming guitars. This track really keeps you on your toes as it twists and turns its way along.

As it winds down, we head into the final rework out for ‘Jesus’. ‘Son of Man’ strips it right back to shaker and bass as it begins with only the essential horns making their presence felt from the original. Vocals have been heavily treated and panned out while a tinkling toy piano has been added for some new textures. It’s the perfect chilled way to close out this cracking album.

1991 could be viewed as a companion piece to 1901 however I think that’s looking at simplistically. Yes, there are a few remixes on here but the inclusion of ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Blasphemy’ for me make this an essential listen any day of the week. Melody Fields have been incredibly generous in my opinion, listened to back-to-back these two albums are practically flawless. Make sure you go and grab your copies before they completely sell out because, trust me, when word gets around, they will fly.

1991 is out now via Coop Records and Nudie Records. Head on over to the Melody Fields Bandcamp page to check it out for yourself.

You can follow Melody Fields on social media here…