Just Mustard : "WE WERE JUST HERE"

 

The Irish dream pop-sters are back with an opaque batch of tunes that finds the forward mixed vocals putting them closer in the zip-code of Cranes.  Katie Bell's child like purity is the sugar coating to what might be a venture into more experimental territory for the band. Her voice rings out wit ha sing song cadence that works for the opening track, but there is a very uniform feel to how this all unfolds over the course of the album. The third album from these guys means they have dialed in their artistic vision, and purposefully pursue certain influences like My Bloody Valentine with the boozy sound of the heavily effected guitars. 

On the second song the vocals begin to become more of a texture, and the bass line a vague frequency  that sets the tone but does not allow for further grooves. Two songs in this is not a deal breaker but how it plays out once you get deeper into the album found me wanting a greater range of dynamics. The plus side of this equation is that nothing is allowed to drone on for too long as the songs all fall within the four minute range. The guitarist lends his voice to "SILVER" to break things up a bit, and the song itself moves at more of a Radiohead like shuffle. 

"DREAMER" finds them backing off more to allow the vocals room to simmer over a more minimal instrumentation that is like riding a rain cloud. Synth sounds create more of a groove for the title track. "Somewhere" lingers in the reverb before creeping to life. "Dandelion' drifts without really going anywhere. The mix disrupts the stage the experimental elements were trying to set for "That I Might Not See'. It result in the song being drowned by it's own drone. "The Steps" feels like more of an idea they never shared with their drummer. 

The last song is more syncopated which helps set it apart from the other songs. The guitarist also sings on the song which at least provide another color in the mix of sounds. Overall I will give this album an 8.5, what they are doing is on brand for them and works, but I would like to here more dynamic focused songwriting from them next time around, 

pst591

the Top 10 Shoe Gaze Albums of 2022

I changed things up a bit two years ago and separated indie rock from shoegaze on these lists.  Much like in years past I sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for the year to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again.

 Sure, you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it .I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Shoe Gaze albums of 2022

10- Robin Guthrie-"Springtime"

One of My favorite guitarists has marked his 60th birthday by releasing a new album. This is an instrumental effort that is not far removed with his work in the Cocteau Twins. It floats like something from a David Lynch soundtrack. I would be down for him doing an album with Juliee Cruise. Chances are when I am in the mood to listen to this sort of thing, I will just pull out my Cocteau Twins albums, but for what this is and given the current state of that band I am happy with this and think fans of his work will be as well.

Abysmal Hymns: Robin Guthrie: "Springtime"

9-Isafjørd- "Hjartastjaki" 

This band from Iceland is comprised of dudes from Pain of Salvation and Solstafir , though nothing close to prog metal. Instead, you are getting a droning ambiance of something that comes close to the Cure or Mogwai. The vocals do get more forceful at times and things swell dynamically, but the pattern in follows has more of a graceful shimmer to it that could have come from "Bloodflowers".

Abysmal Hymns: Isafjørd : "Hjartastjaki"

8-Cloakroom -"Dissolution Wave"

It's been a minute since I listened to this project, but this has a more organic 90s rock feel than I remember coming from them. Where their shoe gazing from 10 years ago might have been more abstract, this finds the vocals with more form and function and adhering somewhat to more conventional song structuring, all while not selling out. This is an infectious listen that grows on me and can just be allowed to play on a loop.

Abysmal Hymns: Cloakroom : " Dissolution Wave"

 

7-Her Shadow- "the Ghost Love Chronicles" 

In contrast to many bands on this list, here is a 60s Phil Spectorish sound haunting the way this band from Finland layers their sounds. The rest of it falls into a Californian collage of surreal technicolored daydreams that David Lynch would be proud of. It's atmospheric pop, though the opening track sails along the sunset without latching onto the kind of blatant hooks that give pop it's sugar craving. This album gracefully creates something that is equally familiar and unique. 

Abysmal Hymns: Her Shadow: "the Ghost Love Chronicles"

 

6-Just Mustard - "Heart Under" 

This Irish band plays a dreamy droning take on shoe gaze. The centerpiece is vocalist Katie Ball who dreamy fey vocals stylings, offer the kind of breathy narrative that gave trip hop a great deal of its atmosphere in the 90s . The band begins to come together in a more organic fashion that sounds like a band more than button pushing. This album is strongest when they use interesting colors to capture the mood.

Abysmal Hymns: Just Mustard : "Heart Under"

5-Somli Yacht Club -"the Space"

This band from the Ukraine is possessed with a harder rocking pulse than what you might call shoe-gaze, but not really post-either this atmospheric band brings to mind what Stone Roses might have sounded like if they were into metal. Dreamy in the languid pace the opener sets the stage and bedazzles with some smooth guitar tones. the second song "Pulsar" has more of a grooving motion. Though it still embraces as the soaring shimmer and the overall mood the songs create is impressive.

Abysmal Hymns: SOMALI YACHT CLUB : "the Space"

 

4-At the Graves- "Fear is God" 

Perhaps the heaviest release on this list, never overtly metal even with the sparse harsher vocals, riffs are often angular and melodic. The vocal tradeoff between the more lethargic ghost of singing and the more agonized howl, leans more towards the reverb drenched sung vocal. It's as heavy as Nothing's more beefier moments the bass lines cutting through the lingering indie rock gloom. The guitar creates a shimmer of taunt tension, placing this on post rock side of shoe gaze more often than not. 

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- At the Graves : "God is Fear"

3-Oh Hiroshima -"Myriad"  

This Swedish band brings shadows and heaviness to a shoegazing affair with atmospheric tendencies that swell to the symphonic side. They have a rock heft driving the core of their sound, but the vocals sit back as a detached narrative in the wall of atmospheric guitars. They are capable of writing pretty amazing songs when they set their minds to it, despite the vocals typically sitting back against the guitars in the mix. There is a symphonic ambiance to what they do that reminds me of Godspeedyoublackemperor!, in the often-cinematic dynamic of their crescendos.

Abysmal Hymns: Oh Hiroshima: "Myriad"

  2-Holy Fawn- "Dimensional Bleed" 

I am a fan of shoe gaze and dream pop, Holy Fawn obviously are as well t goes beyond this when these guys make fleeting attempts at going to a more Deafheaven like place. This is as awkward as being friends with someone who tries to fuck you. Wait I thought this was an exploration in dream land now you have screaming in the background. With that said it floats really wells sonically. In many ways the androgynous vocals give this a sound that is what HEALTH might sound like if they decided to play shoe gaze instead of industrial. These guys are not a metal band, despite where you might see their name pop up on other lists, but they do not need to be one as they do great at what works best for them.

Abysmal Hymns: Holy Fawn : "Dimensional Bleed"

1-Brutus - "Unison Life" 

Thankfully this Belgian band is back. I was a big fan of their last album. This time around they are leaning more into the atmosphere set against a bigger more rock like sound as the Bjork like quality still lingers in her voice. It can be hard to define what they are doing here, though at their core this is shoe gaze with a post-hard-core punch.  This is run through a filter of matured songwriting. It is this song writing that earned the number one spot because not only is this the best of the shoe gazing album released this year, but these songs stand up against albums of other genres as well. 

Abysmal Hymns: Brutus : "Unison Life"

Just Mustard : "Heart Under"

 

This Irish band plays a dreamy droning take on shoe gaze. The centerpiece is vocalist Katie Ball who dreamy fey vocals stylings, offer the kind of breathy narrative that gave trip hop a great deal of its atmosphere in the 90s . The band begins to come together in a more organic fashion that sounds like a band more than button pushing by the time we get to "Still" .  There is a touch of noise draped around the sonics they color the song with. " I Am You" has more of a dynamic shift and I admire the fact they are not afraid to challenge the listener with harsher almost industrial sounds. 

If it was not for the intervals Katie choses this would sound darker. But even I will concede it works for what they do. She pushes from her diaphragm more and goes up higher on "Seed" which is more than can be said for the trend of pop singers like Billie Ellish who use a breathy tone and record their vocals close on the mic. "Blue Chalk" works off more of an ambient tension pulsing in the background. The vocals are haunting but feel less invested in being as crucial a part of the song. It feels like it should bring the hammer down like a HEALTH song would but that never comes. 

"Early" has a more formed and floating vocal melody and goes to show the dynamic range this band has in terms of the scope of what they do. There is more melancholy buried into the fibers of "Sore". It is one of the more emotive vocals performances Ms. Ball gives thus far on this album. "Mirrors" has more motion to it and is one of the album's better songs despite being more detached emotionally. The 90s electronic alt rock vibes get stronger on "In the Shade" . It almost sounds like if a noise band remixed a Chvrches song. The percussion is more minimal on the last song and the vocals hover around with the rest of the droning atmosphere that is the focus of this song which at five and a half minutes is not long compared to some of the other music we review around here, but for this band it's their longest song at least on this album. I will give this album a 9.5, it is strong when you consider what they do which is going for a mood and they use some interesting colors to capture it. Not shoe gaze in the way you might expect them to be.