Liars’ latest full-length opens somewhat portentously. ‘Scissor’ is a simmering opener, broiling with visceral inevitability; a fitting announcement of their return to the fray. But, does the rest of Sisterworld continue Liars proud tradition of innovation within their own parameters?
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Depending on whom you ask and/or where you are in the world, shoegaze is either in a semi-comatose holding pattern or simply dead. Even with the recent reunions of torch-bearers My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver, the scene just isn’t as lively as it was twenty years ago. This reality, it seems, hasn’t stopped Danish quartet Dorias Baracca from putting out Handsome Melting Point EP, one of the most stunning shoegaze releases in the genre’s short history.
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So they may not be everyone’s favourite knob twizzlers, but Tempelhof are a relatively undiscovered gem of musical talent. They have not yet hit the mainstream and given the nature of their music they are unlikely to be heard on the Top 40; yet their experimental electronica is fused with just the right amount of shoegaze to make their music all the more accessible. The edge is taken off the concise computer generated percussion of Aphex Twin that they weave through their tracks by the inclusion of a myriad of instruments, some faraway vocals and the intensity reverberating guitars.
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Norwich band Sennen, currently in the studio recording their third album, offer this six track EP presumably as a stopgap until the full length’s release.  And, indeed, there is a bit of a sense of “will this do?” pervading the enterprise. Continue Reading

I’m a sucker for shoegaze, no matter how basic, it can be I never fail to be impressed by it, or like it arbitrarily. There’s an element of wizardry, and wonder to it that causes me to lose my normally rational, and discerning tastes and fall into a pile, sighing “ooo, nice sounds!”. On his first album Maps, aka James Chapman, proved he could make those nice sounds, while managing to at least moderately deviate from the rudimentary shoegaze template. It was druggy, ethereal and dream like; all words usually associated with the description of good shoe-gaze.
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Epic stuff this. Wolvves, the debut long-ish player from eaststrikewest, kicks off with a shoegazey instrumental (‘God Can’t Take His Eyes Off Me’) that builds into a dramatic wall of sound reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky, or 65 Days of Static: three minutes of massive building guitar and string noise.
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I should put my hands up early on and admit that I was a big fan of the whole shoegazing thing first time around. I remembering seeing Ride in a Camden pub back room so packed that sweat was dripping from the ceiling. That was bedroom indie at its finest.

But Slowdive were a favourite of mine back in the early/mid-nineties too, and its fair to say A Sunny Day in Glasgow have probably got a few of their albums in their collection too. Despite the fact bands have been sounding like this ever since, the current mini revival in popularity of shoegazey stuff has seen a few of these pretenders to the old throne gaining a bit of media attention; and in the case of Philadelphia’s A Sunny Day in Glasgow, rightly so. Continue Reading

The name Engineers conjures up a fair few images. A scattering of muscle bound, oil splattered workers in dungarees eating a pies on top of a partly constructed skyscraper would be one. Fred Dibnah eating a pie would be another.

Such pie eating imagery couldn’t be further from your mind the minute you hit play. Girders, spanners and huge pistons be damned, this is an album that picks you up gently and soon has you moving through the clouds like some kind of sonically powered yogic flyer. From the first few bars of the Harmonium sampling ‘Clean Coloured Wine’ this is an exercise in naturally powered exploration of the ether. This mix of Krautrock and Shoegaze is about as perfect as it gets, and within seconds you’re drifting in a cloud of ambience that doesn’t let up until the album comes to an end. Continue Reading

Quite an interval seems to have passed between this and The Longcut’s terrific debut – 2006’s A Call And Response: three years more or less to the month, in fact.  The traditional writer’s resorts of Wikipedia and the band’s own web site offer no particular clues as to why there was such a gap (lineup changes? artistic differences? label disputes?), but hey, who cares.  Ultimately the only thing at issue here is the music: have they produced an album on a par with the last one, or have the ensuing years been less than kind to the band’s dynamic and creativity? Continue Reading

Bands stealing older bands styles doesn’t matter when the stealing is done so well. Poseurs copy, the real deal steals. Sad Day For Puppets blah blah blah. Blah. Which is to say they steal a bunch of older styles mash ‘em together and come up with Unknown Colors, except, as I’ve just been saying, these colours are known. They are catchy pop couched in distorted guitar and thick bass, Dinosaur Jr., The Posies, bands that the Labrador label’s bands love, dream pop, C86. They juggle all those balls, and then let them drop. Because, look there, they make pretty patterns and colours when they are all bouncing together in a group like that. This 5 piece are from Sweden. Sweden. Sweden. Sweden. I mean, where else? Sweden. Continue Reading

Deerhunter

As the rain comes down on the last of the Bank Holiday stragglers on Brighton seafront, in an old ballroom under the cliffs a transformation is going on on the stage. On one side a victorian lamppost shines, while the amplifier on the other side sports a rather fetching owl. As smoke billows and blue lights flood the stage, it feels like the audience is being transported to some far flung corner of Narnia. Somewhere in that corner lie Esben and the Witch. If School of Seven Bells can be said to be ‘dream-pop’, then Esben and The Witch inhabit the opposite realm-‘nightmare pop’ if you will. Sinister and brooding, they harness dark electronics, shoegaze guitars, military drums and haunting vocals that Beth Gibbons would be proud of. For an unsigned band to sound this accomplished is quite some achievement, and they have already built up quite a following in their hometown, particularly those who remember the earliest Bat for Lashes shows. Pick up a copy of their self released 33 EP while you can.

Esben and The Witch

Sian Alice Group have a tough act to follow and although they take up the gauntlet bravely they don’t quite manage to surpass what has gone before. Working on repetitive grooves and with a clear debt to early shoegaze and, specifically Jason Peirce, their blissed out sounds begin to wash over the audience rather than engage them. Top marks for frontwoman, er, Sian Alice Ahern’s triangle work though.

Sian Alice Group

Deerhunter have somewhat of a rawkus live reputation, with frontman Bradford Cox frequently appearing on stage in sundresses or with his face covered in fake blood. Then there’s the legend that during a particularly out there New York state show he received ‘oral pleasure’ mid show. Tonight marks the end of their UK tour, so pretty much anything could happen. As the smoke machines go into overdrive the tension in the packed room is palpable-the crowd have waited a long time for this (this show is re-arranged after a cancelation earlier in the year.) A huge cheer erupts as Cox and his cohorts take the stage and begin their noise-pop onslaught. Reverb builds upon reverb, volume upon volume, guitars swoon and dive over the propulsive rhythm section, driving ever forward. Cox’s vocals sway in and out of the mix, barely there. But then that’s not the point. This is a headlong rush in to a hazy wall of sound. To the fans, this is the dawning of a weird era. Strobes flash, lights change colour and the band plow ever onwards. After a while however, it all begins to merge in to one long tripped out lightshow, like a fireworks show with free tinnitus for every viewer. Returning for an encore Cox apologizes for not talking to the audience more during the show, clearly having been lost ‘in the moment’. He then announces that, as this is the last date of the tour Sian Alice Group will join them onstage to jam. This doesn’t bode well. What follows is a 15 minute improv version of “I Wanna be Your Dog”….replete with squawking trumpets, triangle and white noise bursts. It’s self indulgence of the worst kind, and it seems to spark a mass movement towards the exit before the three chord trick gets bashed out for the final time. As I head for the exit a lone voice shouts “Way to ruin the show, Bradford”.

Deerhunter

Deerhunter

Sian Alice Group

Sian Alice Group

Esben And The Witch

Trust this reviewer when you’re told that coming from Oxford makes you more aware of post-rock than an average citizen. Technically challenging, prone to self-indulgence and a certain po-faced following the best examples of the genre always manage to throw aside such tags – think Radiohead or Sigur Ros, even Elbow have their roots in the moody ambience and complex rhythms that are to be found on the second full length release by Jeniferever – Spring Tides. However unlike their fellow Scandinavians who find themselves packing out vast spaces such as Alexandra Palace, the Swedish quartet find themselves still very much a cult concern although this record certainly shows signs that they’re more than capable of shrugging off the negative connotations and reaching a wider audience. Continue Reading

Five years ago on the 22nd of April 2004 Club AC30 emerged. A club night which commemorates a style of music that had its first high peak in the early 90s: shoegaze.

Tonight, the celebrate their 5th birthday with their 120th show at Wilmington Arms in Clerkenwell, London. Headlining will be AC30 regulars Exit Calm, supported by I Concur.

Accompanying this event is the release of the third and final volume of the Club AC30
compilations: Never Lose That Feeling. Released on Monday it features the following tracks:

01. Popface – Dreams Burn Down (Ride)
02. The Daysleepers – She Calls (Slowdive)
03. LKWRM – Throwing Back The Apple (Pale Saints)
04. Cosmicdust – To Here Knows When (MBV)
05. Pia Fraus – Strawberry Wine (MBV)
06. Heaviness – For Ex-Lovers (BlackTambourine)
07. The Voices – Violence (Telescopes)
08. Wry – Some Candy Talking (JAMC)
09. Spotlight Kid – Sometimes Always (JAMC)
10. The Flowers Of Hell – Darklands (JAMC)
11. Highspire – Dagger (Slowdive)
12. Rumskib – Shine (Slowdive)
13. Mole Harness, Chipper and S J Esau – In A Different Place (Ride)
14. Ulrich Schnauss – Love Forever (Chapterhouse)
15. Hearts Of Black Science – 40 Days (Slowdive)
16. Jatun – Never Lose That Feeling (Swervedriver)

Mr Sonic Cathedral - Nat Cramp

As a companion piece to our recent review of the new compilation from Sonic Cathedral records Cathedral Classics Vol. 1 we asked label boss Nat Cramp to create a mix exclusively for TLOBF. Obviously, a man with as much love for music as Nat jumped at the chance and a week later he delivered a single mp3, all flawlessly mixed with some of the most serene, ambient shoegaze you are ever likely to hear.

Think of the 80 minute mix as an added bonus to the Cathedral Classics album currently available to buy here from our favourite record store Pure Groove for a bargain price of £8.

We’ll hand you over to Nat, as he takes you on a brief history of the label and guides you track by track through the mix.

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When I started Sonic Cathedral as a club night to celebrate shoegaze back in 2004, there were lots of records from the ‘classic’ era (roughly 1988-1992) that I was keen to play in public. I also realised that there wasn’t an endless supply of these, as many of the bands were not exactly prolific: My Bloody Valentine famously released just two proper albums and Ride a mere four (and two of them you can pretty much forget about). So, to get around a possible lack of material I added the premise that we would also be celebrating the “influences and inspirations” of the scene, which allowed a lot more flexibility on the decks and, over the four and a half years since, has led to quite an idiosyncratic selection of music being played, taking in everything from bluegrass to dub reggae. This approach has also influenced the releases on the label, which are not just pale retreads of what’s gone before, but more forward facing.

This non-stop mix (hey, I’m not Soulwax, but I’ve tried) is an attempt to reflect of the broad church that is Sonic Cathedral.

mp3:> Sonic Cathedral: ‘Art of Noise Mixtape’
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A Balloon Called Moaning is the debut album from Welsh three-piece The Joy Formidable, recent (and riotous) TLOBF gig headliners, and hotly tipped new young band-on-the-rise. Continue Reading