POSTS TAGGED : Shoegaze

Introducing: Silver Matter

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Silver Matter are a Vancouver foursome who play noisy, lo-fi dream pop.

Fronted by Rory McClure, also of Shimmering Stars, they have been tempting us by drip feeding songs that will appear on a six track cassette, which shall be out before the end of 2015. Amid the shroud of murky DIY distortion, ‘Punks Grown Up’ has a gorgeously warm melody and shimmering guitars peaking through as we’re presented with a bittersweet tale of rebellious punks growing up to become rather more conventional. ‘Off Paxil’ is meanwhile, just as warm. A full on supernova of sensory overloads, as they flood the senses with a heady rush of shoegazey noise, with shimmering guitars and semi-euphoric vocals managing to poke through the distortion and hiss of static. Etching out a sublime balance between atmospheric broodiness and undeniably irresistible and warm melodiousness; it is an emphatic and intoxicating introduction. Something tells me you’ll be hearing a lot more from Silver Matter.

Both tracks will be released as a part of a six-track, cassette release called ‘Punks Grown Up’. If you can’t wait that long, ‘Punks Grown Up’ & ‘Off Paxil’ are currently available on bandcamp for a cool $999. You can also listen to them below if you wallet doesn’t stretch that far. 

The Joy Formidable & White Noise Sound – ‘Aruthrol B’

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Welsh indie-rockers The Joy Formidable continue their Singles Club ‘Aruthrol’; a series of limited edition vinyl releases that sees them sharing a double A side with a selection of artists from their homeland.

Aruthrol B, the second in the series, features the band’s latest single, ‘Tynnu Sylw’; a stunning six-plus minutes of cinematic, orchestral indie rock. Opening gently, the deftly intertwined layers of instrumentation unfurl with a silky sophistication to reveal Ritzy Bryan’s spectacular-as-ever vocals, sung in her native Welsh and topped off with a pretty epic guitar solo. ‘Tynnu Sylw’ feels very organic and natural, as it engulfs you in it’s moody brilliance. The ‘Aruthrol series’ seems to have reinvigorated the band, this is the sound of a band thoroughly enjoying what they are doing, and they’ve certainly got the bit between their teeth. That and of course it has provided them with an opportunity to shine a light on some of their Welsh compatriots. Speaking of which, joining on this occasion are Swansea drone rockers White Noise Sound and their single ‘Red Light’. Opening with some sawtooth-guitar, it expands into a sprawling mass of distorted riffs and effects with the hushed, whispery yet decidely no-nonsense vocals just about audible amid the emphatic din. Climaxing with a euphoric mix of reach-for-the-sky-guitars, brass and effects, it is a suitably epic companion to ‘Tynnu Sylw’. Another excelsior double a-side and long may this series continue.

Aruthrol B is out now (buy it here) and you can sample both tracks below. Also, The Joy Formidable have just announced that the third instalment, Aruthrol C, will be out this month featuring the excellent We Are Animal. One to definitely watch out for.

 

Introducing: Segrasso

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Segrasso are a Dublin trio who might, just might, have spent sometime listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride and quite a few other late ’80s/early 90s stalwarts, such is the influence on their sound.

This is in no way a bad thing. Especially when the results are as impressive as their experimentation with layering sounds, pushing their own well honed and meticulously crafted take on early ’90s shoegaze & indie. The trio recently released their debut EP, Headaches, a record of opulent quality. ‘Going To Hell’ is their pièce de résistance, a sprawling seven minutes plus mass of sound. It creeps over your ears, gently probing your expectations with layers of distorted guitars, solid bass and drums playing a perfect role in allowing atmospheric floating vocals shine. A wonderfully alluring journey to a dreamy slumbering wonderland. Elsewhere opener, ‘Disused Shed’, revolves around grinding guitar riff and great little synth line, providing us with ample of amounts of gutsy rock ‘n roll splendour. While ‘Thread’, opens in a rather downbeat dirgey fashion, it is all about the vocal, the centrepiece for which the entire song hangs. It builds the from pushing it forward, expanding and shifting toward a rousing uplifting climax, with the vocal refrain of “There’s something out there” ringing out – a nice note to conclude on. A fine band with shed loads of potential and the EP is an equally first-rate record, it iss quite a spectacular introduction if truth be told. Hopefully we’re hearing more from these guys sooner rather than later.

There are a number of choice cuts from Segrasso below and if they float your boat, you can pick up their debut EP, Headaches, from Bancamp.