POSTS TAGGED : Shoegaze

ADAMA – ‘Light’

Hailing from Östersund in Northern Sweden, psych-outfit ADAMA come bearing a lavish array of psych sounds, cosmic escapism, and all resplendent with colour and imagination.

Their latest offering is GANGA! – a seven-track kaleidoscopic adventure that is simultaneously spaced-out, intense and ethereal – which is accompanied with the epic cosmic escapism that is ‘Light’. Ushered along a deep propulsive groove as guitars shimmer amid a haze of warm fuzz and distortion as a lush organ hum illuminates a path for the the hushed, hazy vocals stretching for heaven. ‘Light’ is an epic aural adventure, a hypnotic hymn setting spaced-out psych-rock side-by-side with lavish gospel – it is utterly divine.

Get transfixed below, listen to ‘Light’, and if that is to your liking, why not try GANGA! here.


Cuesta Loeb – ‘Immerse Inverse’

‘Immerse Inverse’ is the new single from NYC native Cuesta Loeb. 

Currently residing in LA, Loeb explores a love of dark, haunting melodies with dreamy, ethereal instrumentation and vocals, and in doing so, creates a brand of beautiful, layered and dark shoegaze indebted alt-rock all of her own. This approach is captured with spellbinding precision on the new single; and it is all-out bombast from the off. Powered by a relentless surging rhythmic energy and wall-of-sound, ’90s-styled shoegaze, ‘Immerse Inverse’ goes all in on powerful, layers of guitars, which come in wave after wave interspersed with meaty bassline and snappy drums that are matched by taut, twisting chords. Amid this admittedly massive whirring wave of fuzz and distortion, there is a sweetness; due to the understated melody of Loeb’s hushed, honeyed voice. And like that, it is over, and you’ll be reaching to repeat.

A surging, electrified blast of fuzz and distortion fuelled anthemic brilliance – tune in below:

Blacktop Freak – ‘majordepressivebipolarocdillallowyou’

Blacktop Freak is the alter-ego of Michigan-based musician Nick Marinelli.

Marinelli’s reverb-clad soundscapes are derived from parts woozy dream-pop, swirling psychedelia and whirring shoegaze, a penchant outlined on recently released debut EP, Ibidem. The EP climaxes with ‘majordepressivebipolarocdillallowyou’, which charts the steady, then complete breakdown of a relationship.

Musically, the song is one of constantly rising in tension. Beginning life with a gentle melodic strum, it meanders for a time in a dreamy slumbering wonderland, gradually swelling and before enveloping all in its wake with an increasing hiss, off-key strum and feverish atmosphere as a mesmeric hypnotic pattern emerges as it spills and sprawls over one another in slo-mo fashion. It reaches its peak and then its gone. It is equally beautiful and jarring; raw yet refined; it is a powerful and seductive sound – no mean feat.

Listen to ‘majordepressivebipolarocdillallowyou’ below:

Aliendawg. & Moon Pics – ‘Give In’

For starters, 10/10 for the name but far from being just a front, Aliendawg. (aka Luiz Spíndola) and Moon Pics (aka Adriano Caiado) have the substance to back up the handle.

The Brazilian duo have joined forces for the release of the excellent two-song split EP, Give In / Paper Heart, out now via Midsummer Madness.With ‘Give In’, a bright, shimmering and melodic tune from the get go, the Brazilian pair proceed to explore the worlds of ‘90s indie rock, shoegaze and dream pop over the course of three-and-a-half minutes bursting with warm, lush melodies. A rich, textured sound, blanketed fuzzy guitars to create spellbinding soundscapes swelling with heart and emotion Layers of guitars, fuzz, distortion and whirring are moulded into something beautiful, lulling you in and transfixing; it is warm, melodic, charming and deeply alluring.

Listen to ‘Give In’ below – it is a gem.

Heavy Heart – ‘Bed Bug’

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Hot on the heels of sublime single, ‘Bed Bug’, which was released last month the London outfit Heavy Heart have shared a transfixing and unnerving video to go along with it.

‘Bed Bug’ itself is spellbinding; a bright, shimmering tune from the get go, Heavy Heart explore the worlds of ‘90s indie rock, shoegaze and dream pop over the course of four-and-a-half minutes sprinkled with yearning, melancholy, hope and glistening guitar lines and a massive sound. Jangling guitar riffs and crisp but haunted vocals grab you attention before plunging into a soaring bittersweet chorus full of lamenting heartache with a lush backdrop of shimmering strings as ‘Bed Bug’ goes huge on the hooks and choruses. Delicate but powerful, layers of guitars, fuzz, distortion and whirring are moulded into something beautiful, transfixing you as it ekes out a perfect space between light and shade.

‘Bed Bug’, the first of three mixed and co-produced by Gabe Wax (The War On Drugs, Fleet Foxes and Soccer Mommy) and a new EP is expected this spring,

Tune in below.

Submotile – ‘Eastern Sky Sundown’

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Formed in early 2018, Submotile are the Dublin-based duo of Daniela Angione and Michael Farren. Together, blurring the lines between shoegaze, drone, ambient and post-rock, Submotile have created a brand of layered, exploratory and moody alternative rock, all of their own.

In the autumn of last year, the pair released five-track EP, We’re Losing the Light, and Submotile have kicked off 2019 with ‘Eastern Sky Sundown’, the first single from an album in the making. It is all-out bombast from the get go, powered by a relentless surging rhythmic energy, ‘Eastern Sky Sundown’ goes huge on the powerful, layers of guitars, which come in wave after wave interspersed with snappy drums that are matched by taut, twisting chords. Amid this admittedly massive whirring sound of fuzz and distortion, there is a lightness, all down to the understated melody and sweetness of Daniela’s voice. And like that, it is over but you will be reaching to repeat.

‘Eastern Sky Sundown’ is out now and you can listen to it below and along with it, while we wait for more on their debut album, why not try out their We’re Losing the Light EP here.

The Asteroid Shop – ‘Vanished’

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The Asteroid Shop are Los Angeles-based psych-rock outfit, the brainchild of frontman Eric Brendo and ably assisted by Norm Block (drums), Phil Cobb (guitar) and Brandon Graham (bass).

Drawing heavily from a love of ethereal tones, fuzz, reverberation and all things psychedelic, together they deliver a heady sonic brew of something approaching an exploration of parts Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, The Verve, Standing at the Sky’s Edge-era Richard Hawley and Flowers-era Echo & The Bunnymen. A mesh of spacey tones and warm, hazy atmospherics, punctuated by percussion, burning guitars and soaring, singalong chorus with irresistible hooks. ‘Vanished’ is a melodic, meandering and hypnotic psych-rock excursion that is simultaneously dreamy yet stirring, rousing – by the time the wall of guitars takes over at around the two-and-a-half-minute mark, you will be blissfully in awe.

Listen to ‘Vanished’ below now:

Hussy – ‘Slayer’

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Hussy is the moniker of South London dream pop purveyor Sophie Nicole Ellison.

Hussy is a multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist with a knack for deep and textured songs, layering fuzzy guitars to create spellbinding soundscapes – something that is on full show with new single ‘Slayer’. It is a tantalising introduction as gauzy layers of winding, overlapping guitars and Ellison’s smooth, breathy vocal are the cornerstone of this atmospheric, yearning and dreamy world. Layers of guitars, fuzz, distortion and whirring are moulded into something beautiful, lulling you in and transfixing, while the spine-tingling, ghostly quality of Ellison’s seal the deal, adding another level of beauty entirely. Recorded and produced in her home studio, short and simple; ‘Slayer’ is a dream-pop delight.

‘Slayer’ comes as a double single alongside ‘Playtime’ that you can also check below.

The Spiral Electric – ‘A Descent Into the Maelstrom’

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The Spiral Electric are a psychedelic rock band from San Francisco, who’s sound is built upon a number of key ingredients; one part soaring melody, one part face-melting guitar, one part orbiting synth, one part incessant danceable groove and a heavy dose of west coast psychedelia.

Equal parts heavy and dreamy, ‘A Descent Into the Maelstrom’ is the second single from The Spiral Electric’s forthcoming double-LP. It is a song of gargantuan proportions. It is six minutes plus of pummeling drums, bludgeoning riffs and feedback that swell and engulf all in their wake before crashing down, bringing a wave of peace that allows space for the drowsy vocals and more dreamy, somber and mournful moments that suggests a masterful kind of efficient simplicity. With either side of ‘A Descent Into the Maelstrom’ – heavy or dreamy – they provide enough room between sounds to allow for an explosion of expression, musically and melodically. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels and Dead Meadow influences loom large here, and that ain’t a bad thing. ‘A Descent Into the Maelstrom’ certainly suggests positive things for the new album and are a worthy addition to the shoegaze and stoner rock canon.

You can listen to ‘A Descent Into the Maelstrom’ below.

Perfect Body – ‘Fields’

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Formed in Cardiff in 2017, Perfect Body take their cue from the sonic experimentation of bands like My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Having established a name for themselves locally, the Welsh five-piece have joined up with the much renowned Bubblewrap Collective to release a split EP along with Zac White. Perfect Body’s inclusion is ‘Fields’; a dreamy, glacial shoegazy effort that rustles with the ghosts of their aforementioned influences and woozy 60s psych. ‘Fields’ is characterised by managing to be a number of things simultaneously; it’s noisy, psychedelic guitar is both that and elegant. It is ethereal yet muscular and amid the icy, crisp glacial tones there is warmth from the slowburing guitars and wall of sound. Combining to create a wall of noise, it is funnelled through a hazing mix of fuzz and distortion which doesn’t obscure the delightful pop core, and allure of the single.

Tune into ‘Fields’ below: