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DOWNLOAD: Young Prisms - Floating In Blue
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After spending my required two weeks wearing out the ol' iPhone grooves on My Bloody Valentine's catalog each winter, I crave (no, need) more. Fortunately, San Francisco band Young Prisms has come through with the cloudy molasses of "Floating In Blue." If you wanted to grab the guitars here, it wouldn't be possible. Mix that with sweet, hushed female vocals, a bass more rumbling than present and skittery drums, and you got yourself a shoegaze song that still feels contemporary. Hear more on In Between, which comes March 27 on Kanine Records.
DOWNLOAD: Dive - Sometime
What's it like to be buried under a mound of guitars? Zachary Cole Smith, a member of Brooklyn shimmering indie crew Beach Fossils, posits a guess in his new solo project Dive. "Sometime" is something of a six-string cathedral with chiming chords bouncing off its walls and vocals smeared atop a minimal drum machine thump. It's also a 7-inch single, which is available now on the ever-excellent Captured Tracks.
DOWNLOAD: Sleeping Bags - Shark
If you're not feeling a little shoegaze in the autumn, then, well, you're probably a well-adjusted person and I'm very happy for you. For everyone else, there's Sleeping Bags' "Shark." The track is no deep-sea killer, but its guitars are packed with countless layers, creating a cavernous, spacey effect that could easily soundtrack the next time you're trapped inside a frozen lake. Need more? The Los Angeles band's self-titled debut is out now on Easter Everywhere.
DOWNLOAD: Weekend - Hazel
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There are those that will say the fact that Weekend are three of my favourite guys in the world to hang out with and I miss them dearly should not come into the equation when I'm writing a little bit about them on a website. Those doubters would have a point—after all, this isn't for me, or them, it's for you: it's a recommendation. But to be honest, I think those doubters are full of shit. The blare that Weekend whip up is a communal and friendly one. There are guitars made to put you—the listener—at a distance, but they don't work so well. Listen to "Hazel" and it'll draw you in rather than pushing you away. And that's what Weekend are, as in life; three men who like talking about British music, who'll stick up for you in a fight and drink with you until dawn. Isn't that nicer to know than some bullshit yarn concocted to let you know that they like the Jesus & Mary Chain? To me, it is. What a band—get their new EP, Red, now. It is out through the mighty Slumberland, after all, and what higher recommendation is there than that?
Find More Free Weekend Music Here
PREMIERE: Mint Julep - Aviary (Mogwai Remix)
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At first, you can barely see the band in their press pic; can barely hear the band in their download. But relax your squint, adjust your earbuds, allow the darkness to open and the sound to spread, and Mogwai’s post-rock rework of married Portland ambients Mint Julep will become brighter and louder than you ever thought possible. Thick shoegaze textures, soft laser squelches, and enchantress vocals seem to savor a rainy day, embracing all elements cold until they're transformed into something warm.
Mint Julep - Aviary (Mogwai Remix)
DOWNLOAD: Brilliant Colors - How Much Younger
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The Bay Area seems to be a hotbed of impressive shoegaze at the moment, and Brilliant Colors is no exception. This trio of San Francisco ladies is preparing for its second full length on Slumberland after releasing a number of excellent 7-inches since its 2009 debut LP. "How Much Younger" is our first sampling of the new fare, and as before, the group has fleshed out punk roots with layers of scuzzy guitars and Jess Scott's cheeky mix of mouth musing and no bull lyrics. Recorded with Alex Yusimov, who also took the reigns for fellow SF-favorite Grass Widow, Again and Again comes out July 19.
Brilliant Colors - How Much Younger
DOWNLOAD: Seapony - Blue Star
The sleepy, narcotic “Blue Star,” from Seapony’s excellent album Go With Me, out May 31 on Hardly Art, is a great piece of minimal shoegaze. Like the rest of the album, all the song’s pieces sound like a lesson in self-restraint, never growing beyond a whisper.
DOWNLOAD: Whirl - Leave
I like that Whirl decided to call themselves Whirl. It's a bit like Burial deciding to call himself 'Groan' or Wild Beasts taking the moniker 'Wail'—why mess people around when you can just get straight to the point and let people know exactly what they'll be getting? "Leave" whirls, and whirls, and whirls, like My Bloody Valentine, most obviously, but also Slowdive and later-day bands like My Vitriol. Along with the likes of Trailer Trash Tracys and Echo Lake, they're one of the best bands whirling today. You should totally get their brand new Distressor EP when it arrives April 25 courtesy of brand new label The Sounds of Sweet Nothing.
