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STREAM: No Joy - Hare Tarot Lies
On "Hare Tarot Lies," No Joy remains suspended in the clouds, yet you can sense an imminent crash to reality. More present than past efforts, this one is an echo chamber with widescreen guitars and whispery vocals that could still prick and draw some blood. Hear more April 23 via Mexican Summer.
STREAM: André Obin - Lemondrop
With his debut LP The Arsonist on the way March 19, André Obin has let another track slip in the foggy majesty of "Lemondrop." With its piles of synths, Obin hits all the right shoegaze buttons as the vocals flange away and the bass/drum combo encourages sad-man dancing.
VIDEO: DIIV - Wait
With topless women, a Sky Ferriera cameo, rainbows and direction by Sandy Kim, the (yes, NSFW) video for DIIV's "Wait" is a VHS wonder to get you all tranced-out. You can find the song on the band's still-quite-fantastic Oshin album – out now and forever via Captured Tracks.
STREAM: My Bloody Valentine - She Found Now
Had to hold off until Monday morning to post this because on Saturday night it would have just been 'fspdfjksdkf,' but, YES, My Bloody Valentine is indeed back with a new album, mbv, and that is a pretty amazing thing. Check out "She Found Now" – a sultry return from the clouds with a slow churn and absolutely mindboggling guitars. I'm going to go swing around a lamp-post or something.
DOWNLOAD: Ulrich Schnauss - A Long Way To Fall
German producer and composer Ulrich Schnauss is returning with A Long Way To Fall – a new album that finds the sonic explorer trying to translate early-'90s shoegaze dynamics into a purely electronic record. All washy pulsation with a trail of melancholy coloring, the title track wheezes and rumbles with liquid otherness. It hurts my heart a little bit. Hear more in North America on February 12 via Domino.
STREAM: Childhood - Blue Velvet
I always think this is the year it'll all change, but the trees go barren and I go straight for the reliable guitar jangle. On "Blue Velvet," a new one by newish London band Childhood, things get dreamy and poppy in just the right doses. Has the wheel been reinvented? No, but with this kind of jam, it doesn't really need to be.
ALBUM STREAM: Tamaryn - Tender New Signs
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On The Waves, the majestic, shoegazey debut LP by Tamaryn, the band showed both a deep understanding of wall-of-noise introspection and a potential for future growth. Well, round two is here in the form of Tender New Signs – a new full-length for Mexican Summer that finds the group stretching out while still hitting the hazy buttons that made people fall in love two autumns ago. It's officially out next week, but you can preview it right about now.
DOWNLOAD: Neomythics - Phoenix
Musicians Matt Montgomery and Gregory Howe have been songwriting and producing for other artists for years, mostly focusing on those signed to Howe’s San Francisco-based label Wide Hive. The pair recently formed Neomythics as their own musical outlet and released an album, New Corporate Resistance. “Phoenix” is surging rock number infused with clouded shoegazey tones. It’s certainly a key piece of evidence in support of producers getting out from behind the mixing board.
STREAM: Tamaryn - Heavenly Bodies
Bay Area shoegazers Tamaryn are really good at making music that makes me think of both opportunities lost and natural beauty, and they keep it going with the utterly beautiful, towering "Heavenly Bodies." Their second LP, Tender New Signs, is out October 16 via Mexican Summer. That means you have less than a month to get your pedal game up!
DOWNLOAD: Castratii - Limits
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On "Limits," Castratii sounds like they accidentally dipped an '80s pop ballad in a bathtub of metallic liquid. Yes, the Australian group hints at the classic 4AD sound while also adding a insistent drone element that uses ambient firepower to hint at menace and emotional disconnection. Their new one, Eora, is out now on Time No Place.
