Cloakroom : "Last Leg of the Human Table"

Having always enjoyed the albums I've heard from these guys, I am giving this one a shot as well, the vocals feel like there is more purpose here. The dreamy waves of sound continue to wash over you with weighty fuzz, as we have heard from previous releases by these shoegazers. "Ester Wind" finds the drums kicking things up. The third track is more of an interlude. "Unbelonging" finds the opaque guitars creating more of an indie rock feel, as the vocals begin to fall into the background. The vocals do not take a larger role until "The Lights Are On" which follows. 

"Bad Larry' makes me think of Stone Roses if they flirted with Americana rather than digging into Brit Pop. This might be one of the album's strongest songs. The honest vocals ride the gaps of reverb-heavy guitar with hooky grace. There is a cool layering of guitar sounds here. "Story of the Egg" finds the woozy wonderment of tones that bring the My Bloody Valentine vibes to the forefront working well. The vocals drift further back in the mix, though they are still attempting to write memorable songs here. This sonic swathe of noisy edge guitar is more of a sound than a song, but they still put a great deal of thought into how it all plays out. 

"Cloverhopper" rambles with energetic drive, though is not the most memorable song on the album, however, they nail the sound they are going for. The dense atmosphere they slow dive into on the last song does perhaps focus more on the sound than the song, but they try hard enough on this album to make it a worthwhile listen for fans of shoe-gaze. I'll give this one a 9, which is not the 9.5, of previous albums, but certainly puts them at the top of the heap when it comes to shoegaze bands in 2025. It just dropped on Close Casket Activities.