shoegaze Archive
25 Jan 2020
Album Review: LLGLDNBKS — ‘self-titled album’
In 1988, R.E.M. released an album titled Eponymous. The compilation – a survey of the band’s years on IRS Records, released after the band had decamped for Warner Brothers – […]
03 Aug 2019
Album Review: VIA — Vessels of Sound, Vol. 2: Morse
Originally based in Lubbock, Texas but now settled in Asheville, VIA is a shoegaze/electronic, sort-of-but-not-quite-instrumental band. At its core, VIA is instrumentalist Steven Gaona and vocalist/songwriter Karen Austin. At least […]
09 Jun 2019
EP review: reddenhollow – Haunt Me
The opening strains of “Julian,” the first track on reddenhollow’s Haunt Me EP suggest a musical perspective not far removed from that of Fleet Foxes: breathy, gentle vocals and earnestly […]
13 Apr 2019
Album Review: Day & Dream — With Every Breath You Die
Though it kicks off with the brief “And So It Begins,” sporting a watery guitar figure that recalls Todd Rundgren’s “Tiny Demons,” Day & Dream’s With Every Breath You Die […]
23 Sep 2017
Hundred-word Reviews: September 2017
Time for some more hundred-word reviews; new music from many different genres. Linsey Alexander – Two Cats (Delmark) A lot of modern-day blues has a sterility that makes it the […]
11 Aug 2017
New Music Review Roundup, Part 3
Today I wrap up three days’ worth of reviews of new music. Dig if you will. The Pollyseeds – Sounds of Crenshaw, Vol. 1 As far as I know, none […]
14 Jun 2017
Album Mini-review: Slowdive — Slowdive
File next to: Pink Floyd, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine How much difference does 22 years make? That will be most listeners’ first question upon learning that shoegaze heroes Slowdive […]
14 Apr 2016
Single Review: Dirty Sidewalks — “It’s Getting Better” b/w “Hey Girl”
Seattle-based Dirty Sidewalks recently released a 7” single worthy of a listen. The a-side, “It’s Getting Better,” has already gotten some commercial traction in one of the few forms that […]
14 Aug 2015
Album Mini-review: No Joy — More Faithful
File Next to: My Bloody Valentine, Best Coast There’s a curious quality to some of the best shoegaze: the dual feeling of moving both at breakneck speed and at a […]
24 Dec 2014
Best of 2014: Concerts
One of the many pleasures associated with living in the small mountain city of Asheville NC is access to great live music. I grew up in the 70s and 80s […]