Shoegaze
The Brian Jonestown Massacre Announce 2022 Tour Dates
The Brian Jonestown Massacre are hitting the road this year. Anton Newcombe and company announced a 2022 trek across North America, with help from special guests Mercury Rev. The 2022 tour will be the first big action from The Brian Jonestown Massacre since the 2019 release of their eponymous, eighteenth studio album. On this run, the famously turbulent Newcombe will be joined by Hallberg Daði Hallbergsson on bass, Hakon Adalsteinsson and Enrique Maymi on guitar, Uri Rennert on drums, Joel Gion on tambourine, and Ryan Carlson on keyboards. Beginning March 27th, BJM will hit the East Coast with a stop at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer before heading up into Canada and back down the West Coast. The tour comes full circle May 11th at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. Mercury Rev will join the ...
Spiritualized Unveil New Single “The Mainline Song”: Stream
Spiritualized had to push the release of Everything Was Beautiful to April, but they have shared a new song from the album as consolation. Listen to the rollicking new single “The Mainline Song” below. Roaring trains build to a chorus of synthesizers in “The Mainline Song,” which is more upbeat than you might expect from J Spaceman and company. “I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the city tonight,” Spaceman sings, as buzzing keys wash over him. Everything Was Beautiful was originally slated for a February 25th release, but manufacturing issues led the band to delay its release until April 22nd. Written during the pandemic, Spaceman plays 16 different instruments across the record, which also features a huge list of guest contributors along with string and brass sections and...
Beach House Share Once Twice Melody Chapter 3: Stream
Beach House have unveiled the third installment of their upcoming double album, Once Twice Melody. Listen to Once Twice Melody: Chapter 3 below. Once Twice Melody marks Beach House’s first full-length in four years, following 2018’s 7. Produced by Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally themselves, the record was mixed by Alan Moulder, Caesar Edmunds, Trevor Spencer, and Dave Fridmann, and features string arrangements by David Campbell. Chapter 3’s five songs swell from quiet to loud and back again; acoustic guitar jangles as Legrand does her best Julee Cruise in “Sunset,” while “Only You Know” veers toward the electric. Check out those tracks, as well as “Another Go Around,” “Masquerade,” and “Illusion of Forever,” via the visualizer below. Advertisement Related Vid...
Beach House Unveil Once Twice Melody Chapter 2: Stream
Last month Beach House returned with their first new music in four years, and now, they’re back with more. The dream pop duo just released Once Twice Melody: Chapter 2, the second installment of their upcoming double album, Once Twice Melody. Take a listen below. Broken up into four chapters, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally announced Once Twice Melody by sharing its first four songs. Once Twice Melody: Chapter 2 offers a look at the next four, and sees the pair try on a couple different hats: Frenetic keys pulsate in “Runaway,” while a gentle acoustic guitar line pokes out of “ESP;” “New Romance” keeps things light, and “Over and Over” extends into seven minutes. Each song comes with a fittingly psychedelic lyric video, which you can vibe out to below. Once Twice Melody was produced ...
Nothing and Restorations Respectively Cover Big Star and R.E.M. for What’s the Furthest Place From Here? Comic Book Series
The bands Nothing and Restorations cover songs by Big Star and R.E.M., respectively, for a split 7-inch vinyl single that will accompany the third issue of a new Image Comics series What’s the Furthest Place From Here? Nothing take on Big Star’s “Holocaust” and Restorations offer a rendition of R.E.M’s “Radio Free Europe.” What’s the Furthest Place From Here? is the new title from Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss, co-creators of the popular series 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank. Each issue is paired with a vinyl release, with the first two issues featuring music from Jawbreaker’s Blake Schwarzenbach, Joyce Manor, Screaming Females, and Worriers. A press release describes the new comic series as follows: “The world has ended. Now all that remains are gangs of children living among the ruins. But S...
HEALTH and Poppy Team Up for New Song “Dead Flowers”: Stream
HEALTH and Poppy have joined forces for a new song titled “Dead Flowers.” They also unveiled a music video for the heavy shoegaze track, which will be included on HEALTH’s upcoming collab compilation, DISCO4 :: PART II. Known for their industrial and electronic leanings, HEALTH and Poppy take a mellower turn on “Dead Flowers.” It’s a massive slab of melodic dream-pop in the vein of Slowdive and Cocteau Twins. HEALTH lay down a bed of swirling guitars and deliberate, echoing drums. The sonics balance perfectly with Poppy’s voice, which is altered with just the right amount of reverb and registers above the oceanic feedback. Advertisement Related Video The video for the single offers appropriately hazy images, as if the band’s distortion pedals could somehow emit a smokey visual of their own...
Deafheaven Release New Album Infinite Granite: Stream
Deafheaven have released their new album, Infinite Granite, which is now available to stream. With their fifth studio album, Deafheaven have shifted away from the atmospheric black metal that influenced past material, embracing the shoegaze side of their sound. Most notably, vocalist George Clarke has adopted a clean-singing style. Despite some initial shock from longtime fans, the band dispelled skepticism with a string of strong singles. There’s no denying Clarke’s new singing style still fits well within Deafheaven’s heavy soundscapes, even if it took some time for listeners to adjust. Advertisement Related Video To achieve the new sound, the band enlisted producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, best known as Beck’s longtime bassist and for his work with electronic-based pop artists such as M83...
R.I.P. Bryan St. Pere, Hum Drummer Dead at 52
Bryan St. Pere, the drummer for the massively influential shoegaze and alt-rock band Hum, has died. He was 52 years old. His bandmates confirmed the news in a statement earlier today, writing, “It is with very heavy hearts and tear filled eyes that we share the news that our beloved friend and bandmate, Bryan St. Pere, has passed away. We are devastated and deeply saddened by his sudden, and unexpected passing. Bryan was a dear friend, a loving father, brother, and was an incredible person and musician. We all feel extremely lucky to have shared time and space with him. Peace and love to all who knew Bryan, and those he touched. We will miss him dearly.” At an early age, St. Pere was drawn to the drums and decided to start playing the instrument after falling in love with Rush, particularl...
King Woman Share Video for New Song “Psychic Wound”: Stream
King Woman have shared the music video for new song “Psychic Wound”, taken from their upcoming sophomore album, Celestial Blues, out July 30th. The new single the second album cut we’ve heard from singer Kris Esfandiari and company, following “Morning Star”. The songs have seen the atmospheric doom act shift toward even more expansive sonic territories. Ethereal vocals are backed by sludgy post-metal soundscapes, and the striking video emphasizes the macabre forewarning depicted in the lyrics. “‘Psychic Wound’ is about paying the price for eating forbidden fruit,” Esfandiari explained in a press release. “When desire turns into obsession, it can keep you longer than you intended to stay and nearly destroy your sanity.” Related Video King Woman will support the release of Celestial Blues wi...
Slowdive and Flaming Lips Members Form Beachy Head, Announce Debut Album
Rachel Goswell (photo by Autumn Andel) and Christian Savill (photo by Debi Del Grande) Members of Slowdive, The Flaming Lips, The Soft Cavalry, and Casket Girls have formed a new supergroup named Beachy Head. The quintet will release their self-titled debut album on April 30th via member Ryan Graveface’s Graveface Records. As shared on Bandcamp, Slowdive’s Christian Savill started writing and recording demo songs back in 2019 before sending out the musical sketches to Graveface (Dreamend / The Casket Girls) and The Soft Cavalry’s Steve Clarke. Graveface and Savill then recorded the barebones structure of the tracks in Savannah, just two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. After Flaming Lips drummer Matt Duckworth added his contributions, Clarke was able to add harmonies and other ...
Horsegirl Share New Single “Ballroom Dance Scene”: Stream
Teenage Chicago noisy rock trio Horsegirl have released a new single called “Ballroom Dance Scene”. Watch its corresponding music video down below. Band members Penelope Lowenstein, Nora Cheng, and Gigi Reece wrote the song, which details the lives of various fictional characters, during the fall 2019 Chicago teacher’s strike. They created the accompanying video during this past winter break, shooting it on their phones and an old digital Canon camera. Street footage was filmed in the band’s “aux-less 2004 Buick LeSabre,” while the indoor scenes were shot in the attic of Reece’s childhood home. The song itself features layered vocal melodies and builds from restrained opening acoustic strum, bringing in swirling electric guitars midway through. “Ballroom Dance Scene” serves as an ampl...
Deafheaven Release New Studio-Recorded Live Album 10 Years Gone: Stream
Deafheaven have released their new studio-recorded live album 10 Years Gone, commemorating the illustrious first decade of their career. Initially, Deafheaven were to go on a world tour called “10 Years Gone”, but the pandemic shut that down. Making the most of the situation, the band decided to properly record its planned setlist live in the studio, offering a vivid document of what fans would have witnessed had the tour happened. The only thing missing is the crowd noise as Deafheaven deconstruct arguably the strongest set of songs in their catalog. “Daedalus” and “Glint” were released as singles, teasing the immensity of this psuedo-live document. Tackling each song full bore, it’s Deafheaven at their most intense and direct. “Revisiting the songs in this studio sessions format with Jac...
