Our old blog friend István Csarnogurszky of Silent Island (and so many other stellar projects) has a new album out, and it is a continuation of his mellow, cosmic guitar playing inspired, possibly, by everything from psych and post-rock to four-to-the-floor rock licks. Gentle, meandering (in a great way), a nice album to just get lost in the clouds with.
Shoegaze
[Music] Cloud – Live at Kulak’s Woodshed
Thanks to the wonders of Bandcamp, I am able to catch up on old friends’ bands from Los Angeles (like Tunnelmental, Farflung, The Secret Society of the Sonic Six), but it’s also quite pleasing to discover bands I missed out on. Cloud have a vibe that is not dissimilar to bands like Galaxie 500 or Luna, but add a touch of Los Angeles to their work. I’m not quite sure how I can qualify that, but growing up hearing so many bands in this area, there’s something in their music that makes it familiar. I’m really enjoying this band.
[Music] Various Artists – Welcome To The Occupation, A Reverence to R.E.M
The Blog That Celebrates Itself continues to release the finest covers compilations in a shoegaze style. This time, the band getting the royal treatment is R.E.M., who haven’t sounded this good since about 1990.
[Music] Various Artists – The Blog That Celebrates Itself Records: Kosmische Musik
[Music] Oak – Not Afraid Anymore
I came across these guys thanks to a fine poster over at Reddit. Very solid post-rock out of France, not too derivative of other bands like Immanu El and the like.
[Music] Various Artists: The Blog That Celebrates Itself: Girl Groups – The Underground Versions
The Blog That Celebrates Itself (TBTCI) has become one of my go-to labels for great covers of indie and post-punk music done in a style not unlike shoegaze music. This one is a gem because the theme is girl groups, and each of these Brazilian unknowns does a stand-up job reworking the originals into something quite modern-sounding,
[Music] ±0 – ±0
±0 (pronounced as plus-minus-nula) are a post-punk band out of Prague, Czech Republic. This eponymous debut was released in March of 2017. If you are a fan of this particular genre of music, especially of the sounds made by The Cure, Joy Division, The Sound or others during the 1979-1980 heyday of the genre, this album was made specifically for you in mind.
Kudos go especially to their sound engineer, who must have really studied post-punk. He managed to get the sound just right for the band. Authentic, and worth exploring further!
[Music] Blankenberge – Radiogaze (LP 2017)
Today’s pleasant surprise is Blankenberge, a dreampop/shoegaze band out of Russia. Not quite My Bloody Valentine at their peak, but pretty decent nonetheless.
[Music] Silver Rose – Silver Rose
I know of quite a few artists in Brazil who are doing stupendous work in the genre of Shoegaze music, but this release by Silver Rose, a Mexican band, equals or surpasses these, having a lot in common with their fellow British and American co-practicioners of this sonic art.
Those of you who like Dream Pop will find a lot to enjoy with this release as well, as, for those of us over the age of 40, we’ll remember swaying to Hope Sandoval’s lush vocals. For a moment, this album transported me back to those days. A keeper.
[Music] Akute – Płastyka
Though it’s listed as post-rock on their Bandcamp page, Akute would probably fit rather well in the indie and shoegazer music genres as well.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 