Fuck Yeah Shoegaze!
Lovestruck - The Fauns
Following on from that delightful Pia Fraus track, here’s some more shoegaze on the sweet side from Bristol’s The Fauns, who admittedly I knew nothing about until recommended by thenotes.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Everybody go awwwwhhhh. Think this is the first time I’ve thought that shoegaze could actually sound sweet, normally my reaction to it is to well up inside or coil in the corner with near fatal goosebumpery. ‘Loveloops’ is taken from the Estonian’s 4th LP ‘After The Summer’ and was produced by Norman Blake. Wait, Norman flippin’ Blake, that explains things, he of the pole position monopolising Grand Prix making Teenage Fanclub. In truth Pia Fraus were always a step above the bandwagonesque of a torrent of nice indie bands, they like to pack lots of decent tunes you see. ‘Loveloops’ has me thinking of happy things, like the birth of a first baby…..due tomorrow in huggerland.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Slowdive - “Alison” - from the album Souvlaki
Homeboy - Adorable
I’ve personally never really classed Adorable as shoegaze but others have, so indulge me a little in allowing this onto this tumblr.
This track was a dance floor staple amongst a tiny UK indie niche in Brisbane, Australia in the mid-1990s, so it is very dear to my heart.
shoegazing time
tutte le volte che scopro una band del genere mi sento come un bambino lasciato solo nel più grande negozio di giocattoli del mondo, direi che li promuovo a band shoegaze migliore del 2009 <3
On some other tumblr of mine I was ranting as I tend to do around midnight with some cab sav on board about not dismissing bands who do shoegaze by numbers…
ANYHOW, that came to mind when I saw this post.
Record #142: A Sunny Day in Glasgow's 'Ashes Grammar'
Released this September, Ashes Grammar is the second full-length record from Philadelphia’s co-ed, dreamy, ethereal, electronic shoegaze outfit A Sunny Day in Glasgow. This crew clearly takes a lot of cues from My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain and all the other iconic ’80s shoegaze acts responsible for making dark, repetitive pop an indie-rock institution. The primary difference between A Sunny Day in Glasgow and their first-generation shoegaze/dream pop/ambient-rock predecessors is more sophisticated, modern electronic instrumentation. This is a relatively longwinded collection—there are 22 tracks here, though many of them are extremely brief interludes—and its constant, redundant looping of vocals and swirling, distant synthesizers and washed-out guitars certainly doesn’t make it feel any less lengthy. It is, however, an interesting album for fans of dark pop, shoegaze and the more subdued side of electronica and dance music.
True, it is a longer journey than most, but it is an extremely rewarding one in my opinion.
