Basement : "WIRED"

 

The band's new album brings a late 90s sound that blends indie rock, pop-tinged hooks, and some post-hardcore grit; the vocals add needed grit to belt it out. I like that you can still hear the punk that is in the DNA of this kind of music that originally merged in the 90s. It takes you back to a time when songwriting mattered, as things evolved from the grunge explosion and began to form their own identity. "Dead Weight" shuffles along with help from a driving bassline that keeps the more indifferent tone of the vocals moving. 

There is a more casual tone to "Broken By Design" that ambles along with less aggression, as the singer finds himself more reflective. They move at a brisk pace for "Pick Up the Pieces," which has a more explosive chorus. Things go in the direction of Failure's more introspective moments for "Embrace." If you want just high-energy songs, it is more of a slow burn, but worthwhile, and it stands as a credit to the band for creating a dynamic album.  Then "Sever" has a more rowdy grunge charge as angst comes to a head. The very raw organic quality of the production lends itself to this kind of rowdiness that they continue on with during "The Way I Feel". 

If you are old enough to remember when this kind of music first dropped on MTV'S "120 Minutes' show before grunge broke big, then it's clear the wheel is not being reinvented here. But you can also confirm that they got the mood right. "Satisfy' finds the hook of the vocal melody taking center stage. There is a more downtrodden sonic shade to "Head Alight." It's not quite a ballad, but something that would have been at home on College Radio in 1993.

They have certainly crafted some memorable songs with not much in the way of filler. "Longshot" comes closer to being a ballad. It has a lazy summer strum. Funny enough, the song about summer that closes the album, "Summer's End," is more of a grunge anthem for 2026's definition of the genre. I will give this album a 9.5 as it certainly captured a time period I am fond of, even if it is not one I revisit the most. Not only did they nail the sound, but they also remembered that songs were much better written back then and rose to the occasion. Being released May 8th on Run For Cover Records. 

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Nothing : "a short history of decay"

 

Nothing's 5th album is a more organic excursion, with strummed acoustic guitar and vocals stepping out from behind the indifferent haze of effects. This is not so say Domenic has shed the idea of being a shoe-gaze, in fact he more closely aligns himself with that sound on the second song and lead single 'Cannibal World' that finds a break beat drum samplele moving things in a manner much different from what you expectg from shoe -gaze while still bathing you inthe woozy swirl of My Bloody Valentine influenced guitars. Even then, you learn to get too comfortable with what you assume this band to be. 

Guitarist Doyle Martin is the only member to carry over from the "Great Dismal" sessions. The title track finds the more programmed drum beat leading the way into the song again, until they kick through the haze. It's only three songs in, but I am not hearing the more fuzzed-out guitar punch that once gave a nod in the direction of grunge. The vocals sit further back on the title track, which shifts through a slow-burning dynamic that adds intensity with each progressive step in the arrangement. The vocals are more thoughtful than your average shoe-gaze band, even when sitting back in the guitars. 

Things drop back down to a more delicate strum for "The Rain don't care."  There is a great, lonely reverb haunting the guitar tone of this song, which makes it sound more like something Chris Isaak might do, until the breathy plea of the vocals comes in to create more of a Smashing Pumpkins feel. It's dreamy, but the vocal arrangement is not as hooky, leaving the guitar to do most of the heavy lifting. Overall, the vocals have expanded the range of color they use on this album. 

The acoustic guitar opening "Purple Strings" feels more like early Radiohead. It's fragile like their 90s era ballads. When the drums come in it even feels like it is building like "Creep". But unlike Radiohead, here they are not kicking in with grungy guitar and busting out power chords; they are just floating further down the dreamy trail. There is also more of a 90s feel to "Toothless coal," which does bring the power chords with it. It might be the album's best song as the melody works really well and is subtle. Sure, the band has it harder before, but this is a great compromise. 

There is a more David Lynch feel to "Baller of the Traitor". It's like the nuance in the guitar riff that keeps the song floating in its introspection. The breathy vocals are another layer of sound. I appreciate how they weave around the guitar. The interplay of drums and guitar is more defined on "Nerve scale." This leads to the vocals fading more from the spotlight to a ghostly croon. The album closes with the hesitant strum of 'Essential Tremors.' it touches on the crossroads where early emo intersected with the atmosphere of shoe-gaze, before building into a more Hum-like rock climax.They had moved away from your typical shoe-gaze sound on the last couple of albums so taking a step back into this introspective atmosphere is an odd choice, but it works from a songwriting perspective, so I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me.Coming out on Run For Cover Records 

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One Step Closer : "All You Embrace"

I appreciate the effort put into the songwriting here and the willingness to use memory as it pulls on the strings of nostalgia back to a time when this kind of thing felt fresh. I would be more impressed if this album came out in 1999. Over the years this sort of thing has weathered has come with it the bastardization when bands like Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World, sold out to capture the radio waves. It is hard to separate that sort of thing from the melodies that possess songs like "The Gate".  Not the only song where they swing for the fences with anthemic dynamics, but most noticeable.  This diminishes the punk or hardcore side of what they are doing. There are so many bands capable of being true to both, Turnstile and Take Offense being the first two who come to mind. 

Some songs just conform to what the expectations of the genres are by keeping a sonic middle of the road, I think they could stand to be more aggressive as the more poppy nuances take them in a more Get Up Kids-like direction at best, as other times it sounds like color by numbers emo-pop punk before it descended into Myspace. Not that they just have to rely on screamed vocals but taking some of the sugar out of the singing might help. On the other hand, I like the vocals on the verses of "Esruc' which is one of the album's stronger songs.  Then with "Slow to Let Go" they split the difference between hardcore and pop punk in a way that feels bland. The last song almost feels like the jammed-out resolution of the previous song,. 

Things swing to the other end of the creative pendulum and everything falls into place for "Topanga".  They step into the ghosts of radio past on "Giant's Despair". the last song feels like it is the jammed-out resolution of the previous song and while I like the dynamic build and wish I heard more like it through the album it is almost too little too late as the album was allowed to meander in late 90s nostalgia. I     will give this album an 8, they are skilled songwriters and I appreciate what they are going for but it falls on the side of pop-punk too much for my tastes, but not denying they are good at this style of music, which I can't really call punk or hard-core.  Dropped on Run For Cover Records. 

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Pity Sex : "White Hot Moon"

When it comes to indie rock record labels Run For Cover, has the cream of the crop. They tend to go for more morose artists and this band falls in with the pack. The lyric from this album "nothing matters in a dream" from the opener off this Ann Arbor band's new album is a perfect description of their attitude going into this. The monotone vocals are pretty apathetic and sometimes offset by more sugary female vocals that coo under the fuzzed out drone of the guitars. Their cleaner guitar tone works better for me than the super over driven one. The guitar punches and vocal phrasing is tighter on "Burden You". There is a surreal dreamy feel to their music , but I am not sure they should be described as shoe-gaze. "Bonhomie" gets pretty up-beat, almost to the point of being too happy for me with the chorus' hook the only thing to keep it in play. They are more reflective in "September". I like how the male vocals are mixed differently than the female vocals and sit back in the mix as more of a call and response. Sure the bass line is kinda lazy and could carry the song more than it is, but the vocal interplay really sells this one. "What Might Soothe You" kind breezes by me with nothing really reaching out to grab me and "Plum " strummed with almost a similar indifference even though the two songs don't really sound the same. Its the layered harmony vocals of their female singer than save this one.

There slacker apathy is infectious as it's easy for me not to really care enough. I had to step away from the album to return to this album with fresh ears as I found myself not caring about it as much as I did when their sound was new to me on the first few songs. They lay the Sonic Youth on thickly to the beat of "Orange and Red". The only hint of shoe gaze I pick up here is the vocal line to this song, but it's pretty upbeat. The lazy strum of "Dandelion" floats the song off into a care free lethargy. The male singer's voice comes in on the title track to spread a blanket of indifference. There is more love and care put into "Pin a Star ". It ambles along with feathers in it's footsteps. "Wappen Beggars" has more heft in the over drive and the bass steps up in the mix , but in many ways the song feels like a more distorted version of the previous song, how ever the vocal performance  by the male singer steps up it's game and it's his best showing on this album. Ambivalent indie rock is not our forte here, though we do like Sonic Youth and many of their bastard spawn. We like indie rock if it's depressing enough and the guitar tone or some other factors draw us in . This album was mildly entertaining and has it's moments, more positive ones than not, though I don't really see this as something I would listen to more than the two spins I gave it, but it might be your thing if you are looking for something that doesn't rock to hard and are too young to have gotten into Sonic Youth and Hum, so I'll give it a 7.

Basement : "Promise Everything"

Here's a band that walks the line between the grunge of the 90's and indie. There were band's like Sebadoh who were walking that line back in the day and these guys have smoothed some of their awkward edges out to give a slight emo pop sheen to this. The hook in the chorus of "Hanging Around" waves its hands for attention in a more obvious manner than the casual cool of the opener. They reclaim some slacker ambivalence on "Lose Your Grip", however they already set the bar pretty high for themselves on the first song so that is what I am asking them to aim for. Though there is more of an emo introspection on "Aquasun". I think it's the first song that comes close to being as well crafted as the opener. The wall of jangling guitar over powers the drums on this one, but it's alright. They step up their rock game on "Submission". It's pretty simple stuff, but played with just the right energy and conviction.  The singer lets his voice crack to emote more, which is there version of a more aggressive singing style.

They take their foot off the monitor and stare at their Converse on " Oversized".  It gets sugary in a way that sounds like it's a lost Weezer track. "Blinded Bye" is where they started to lose me , which is unfortunate because they do have a lot of potential. But the song was just bland and too middle of the road for me. This is the same quality I don't like about the Foo-Fighters as well. To this band's credit they don't write songs that sound like beer commercials. They gain some traction on "For You the Moon". The guitar riffs feel like they are more thought out than the vocals, but the song has enough momentum to gloss over that. The add a stiffer kick to their brand of emo rock on the title track. The bass is more driving on this one and eventually allows the guitar some room to play around. They dial it back a little for "Halo". It glides along the more emo power ballad landscape that makes this feel like 2002. There ends up being more ballad and less power to this one. These guys are good at what they do, I would like to hear them head in the direction this album started out on , but regardless I'll give this album an 8 as they achieved what they set out to here.

Elvis Depressededly : "New Alhambra"

This Boston based project has one of the best names ever. They dropped this album back in may. The samples give a surreal creepiness, the effects on the vocals sit somewhere between old Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse. The rainy day mood and introspective nature creates an excellent atmosphere and the lyrics are very clever. The title track becomes almost so spacey that it doesn't hold together enough to grab me until the " I turn every corner" lyric. "Bruises" is slightly more upbeat. The guitar is more effected here and the samples don't stop which is fine with me as they are well used.One of the albums best songs is "Rock N Roll" where his reptilian soul is being blessed and Jesus is saving his soul so he can quit his job. The religious imagery almost confused me earlier on into wondering his this was a Christian based ting, but it's more ironic than not.


 After the effects layered sample of a televangelist they go into the more poppy strum to "Big Break" but the distorted buzz in the back ground add a subtle yet abrasive under coating to make it not radio friendly. "Ease" has a more psychedelic rock ambiance, with the vocals still sounding like they are being sung underwater.Here it makes the lyrics more difficult to make out. "New Heaven, New Earth" the vocals have a more distinct melody and purpose to propel the song. It's equally upbeat and dreamy.It ends with the more folk flavored strum of " Wastes of Time". The lyrics don't have the same twist to them that many of the other songs do. It is more straight forward all the way around. These are simple but smart songs often too short , but this is a project that I will continue to keep my ear open for in the future I'll give them an 8.5.
 

Camera Shy : "S/T"

If you seem him onstage you might think Bassist Nick Basset is on drugs, but there is no way he can be if he keeps this busy, not only does he play in Whirr, Nothing and the goth side project Death of Lovers , but he now has this indie rock band Camera Shy. It's not shoe-gaze , but there is a dreamy element to it, but it's focus it poppy indie rock. This album came out back in January, so I am surprised it did not garner enough buzz to be brought to my attention earlier. Acoustic guitars are more common than not. The female vocals are sometimes more hushed and breathy like a shoe band might use on songs like "Colors Radiate". Nick has a pretty dope Morrissey tattoo, so it's not mistake that the guitar strum has some Smiths to it. You see how much this project relies on Basset as it feels like his influence takes a back eat on "Glowing", which is just acoustic guitar and none of his bass playing to give it any depth. The Smiths' like guitar returns on the more upbeat"New Something" that finds her vocal melody taking a gleefully poppy turn, but think 90s alt like the Cranberries rather than Taylor Swift."Under Water Day" is a slower more acoustic based song , but it works better than the previous tab at a similar sounds, it's not as happy so maybe thats why I like it and her vocals border on Cocteau Twins like intervals, she is not trying to be Elizabeth Fraiser an stays in a youthful mid range. There is a slight 50s slant to the guitar on "Take Your Time" another upbeat more pop inflected song, with sappy lyrics.

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They close the album with the very delicate " Seemingly Ill". The song is so fragile it seems a wind might blow it away. Dream pop might be an apt genre to say many portions of the album lean toward. You could say that of all his projects this one is the most mainstream, but even then this is much more thoughtful than anything gracing the radio. It fits well on the landscape of indie rock and I think they were very successful in creating what this album seeks to accomplish, breezy pop songs heavy on the atmosphere.I'll round it up to an eight and see how it grows on me, it was happier than expected and given his past work I went into it expecting something more down trodden in some form or fashion, it's not shoe-gaze so don't go in expecting that, but if you like girl fronted indie rock that is introspective yet poppy this should be up your alley.