Superheaven : "s/t"

 

The third album by this band which built a buzz with their first two albums. They have a 90s sound that occupies the middle road between grunge and shoegaze, recalling "Gish" era Smashing Pumpkins, but with a less androgynous vocal approach. In fact, the vocals owe a bit more to Helmet in how they occupy space. This space is created by the grooves of their drummer. They do not allow the atmosphere to bog them down as the songs retain their smooth momentum. They have released four singles leading up to this album's release, but I did not check out any of them, so going in fresh, though I have listened to this band before, so I am familiar with what they do. 

"Cruel Times" has some heavier accents, but these guys are in no way metal. If you think just using distorted guitar makes something metal, then you don't know anything, and we are just going to ignore you and get on with the rest of this review. Often, more shoegaze bands tend to allow the vocals just to be a texture, but these guys use the vocals as a focal point of the songs. Palm muted chugs sometimes shift the dynamics, and they never really take the songs in the most expected places. There is more Nirvana in the influences of " Sounds of Goodbyes", which is a great deal of catchy fun. 

The thing about what they are doing is that the pieces of sound they have collected to work with are derivative, but it's the spirit in which they have assembled them that carries enough personality to make them their own. "Long Gone' digs into a more stadium-ready vision of grunge. "Hothead' feels more like the Foo Fighters. It is the first moment where things do not feel equally inspired, but I guess they felt they needed an uptempo song like this. I am guessing it was the drummer's idea, as he sounded like he was having the most fun.I prefer the reverb-heavy melancholy of "Conflicted Mood" that sets up "Star at the Void".  "Next Time" sulks around with hopeful melodies arising from the brooding. The last song reminds me of Failure, which works for me. I will give this album a 9.5, as it gives you what you want from this sort of 90s gaze rock. 

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choke cherry : "Messy Star'

This band carries a raw grunge edge to their otherwise trippy take on "dream pop' that leans into the pop hooks. The opening song rocks out more and the dense guitar riffs pack more of a punch. One-half of the songwriting duo fronted a hard-core band so the value of laying the smackdown as needed is preserved in her. They might not go into screaming breakdowns, but they know what being heavy is worth. The title track works off some subtle hooks that are highly effective. The loud-to-soft formula is very 90s but cements their songs as being authentic to that era which they pay homage to. 

The jangled strum of "I Know You" sets the stage for the thoughtful verses. The chorus is not as big and radio-ready as the previous songs but still works well for what they are doing here, as here vocal is the guidepost. The guitar phrasing on this one is very clever. Dynamically there are no surprises with this one but it is a well-thought-out idea that works as a song. They kick in a get rowdier, but when you accept grunge as part of who they are it is a logical progression. 

"Mirror Mirror" rocks out in a harder fashion, with the vocals taking on a more aggressive shouted cadence. Some of the more nuanced vocal colors work really well for me here. It bounces more than it stomps, but they are not trying to be a metal band, so that does not factor in as much. The palm-muted crunch in the climax of the song is pretty effective. I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. It drops on October 25th on Fearless Records. 

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