What began as a simple idea of a few shoegaze and dream pop bands coming together to do a tribute to The Cure (shortly after Robert Smith's birthday, no less) evolved as a premise. What had been a tribute show in a small venue became a much more ambitious festival, showcasing the talents of the genre's best bands. Jack from Contrast originally pitched the idea to like-minded musicians, and now […]
Last we heard from Rennes, France's Maria False, they had just released their 'Spots and Lines in a Frame' EP in June of 2013, to critical acclaim. It's been quiet ever since. Now, on the eve of their excellent When LP (released 4 May on A Quick One Records), we needed to catch up with the lads, figure out what's up. Yann and Bernard took a few moments to brief […]
Things are looking up in 2015 for Birmingham, Alabama's Wray. Lush and layered, churning and simmering, WRAY arrived with their self-titled debut album on July 15 of last year on the Communicating Vessels imprint. Turned a lot of heads with the opening single "Apacheria" (#20 track, end-of-year listener poll), teased before the album's release. Next thing you know, impressive hits kept coming. "Bad Heart", all driving propulsion with psych vibes. […]
We first played Toronto's Iris late last year with the instrumental grinder "Antoinette". We caught up with them when the single "Ragdoll" premiered via Sounds Better With Reverb, and it was a breath of fresh air. We then heard the single "Fix Me" and fell over. Like the debut from Whirl (now Whirr) and Pity Sex before them, it was less of a band, or a sound, and more of […]
Cre•scen•do emerged from the depths of the LA music scene at the beginning of 2014, and have been making a tuneful noise that’s caught the attention of the press (and us!) since the beginning of June. First they dropped the single “Gatsby”, a quick hit of jangle joy on June 6th, then followed up three weeks later at Spin Magazine with their second single “Jacqueline’s Apartment”. The debut album Lost […]
Above photo credit: Steven Thomas Crisis Arm are busting out all over. Right now best known in their native Southern California, they've just wrapped a full state tour and are back to the business of recording. They've got a new EP, "Fetch" in the can, finalizing release date and format as I write this. Guitarist Patrick Capinding brings the textured noise, Cameron Puleo's lead lines provide the flowers among the […]
It's a dreamy sound. If you had to compare it to anything, you'd compare it to the sound of Portland rain. The intricate twin-guitar interplay sounds like getting caught in a small but refreshing rain shower. THIS is Soft Shadows. As they prepare for wide distribution of their new full-length disc, Reverb is for Lovers, we sat down with the members of Soft Shadows and asked them about music, philosophy, […]
Humans tend to label things to better understand them. It's one of our limitations. Take music, for instance. We can better understand music if we can neatly place sounds into categories. Houston's Drowner have always defied boundaries and eschewed labels. With an expansive foundation provided by multi-instrumentalist Darren Emanuel, and a deep lyricism provided by vocalist Anna Bouchard, the core of Drowner has only evolved since its inception in 2010. […]
Chile's Trementina have been kicking up sand on our airwaves for the last several weeks, with a sound that beautifully balances sweet and sandpaper. Well, at least partly to be expected from a band whose name translates to Turpentine. Fascinated, as we are, by intriguing new sounds from bands just breaking out, we chased down the members of Trementina to find out what inspires this uniquely engaging sound. Trementina is: […]
