LA-based multi-instrumentalist Danny Rincon is about to launch his debut album out to the world. Recording under the name Scrunchie, he is heavily influenced by the 90’s shoegaze sound as well as drawing inspiration from grunge and slowcore bands. He has been recording in esteemed company, namely renowned mixing engineer Sonny DiPerri who’s worked with My Bloody Valentine and Nine Inch Nails; and legendary mastering engineer Stephen Marcussen (The Smashing Pumpkins, The Strokes).
The album opens on the magnificent lead single ‘Vanish’. It’s a song of multi layered textures, screaming feedback, fuzzed out guitars and ethereal vocals. For me its about as perfect as a song can get. I can hear a nod to early Medicine in the choice of guitar tones which only further endears this band to me. It’s that chorus though, the very definition of a hook.
This leads neatly into the more punchy and direct vocals of ‘Soothe You’. This is such an exhilarating listen; I feel like I’m running just to keep up and then when we hit the chorus I take off into the sky. It’s like Billy Corgan and Kevin Shields got together to write a song. Two names I don’t use lightly. Only two songs in and I’m in love!
Things get disorienting and woozy next on ‘Comorbid Insomnia’. The use of an off-kilter drum beat and variety of guitar tones captures the almost hallucinatory quality of insomnia at its worst. As we enter the second verse the guitars double down on the heavy fuzz driving things forward, before resolving into the chiming tones of the intro again. The repeated refrain almost cyclical trapping us in the singer’s head.
‘Swept’ delves into the band’s slowcore past. Instead of filling the song with space and moments of deep silence, Rincon brings his entire gaze arsenal to the fore. When genres collide like this, magic happens. This collision of noise shouldn’t work on paper, but in the headphones its utterly compelling!
‘Red Rover’ is next up. The squealing guitars over that complex drum pattern is totally bonkers sounding. Then through the haze of fuzz comes this glorious melody that plasters a smile on your face. This is what it sounds like when you are having fun with your art.
‘Old Pal’ taps into that mbv influence, certainly from that self-titled album. Again, the high-pitched squalls cut through the static-filled mix. The mid-section provides us with a glimpse of something new however, a stop start moment that really catches you unawares. Man, we are really being kept on our toes here.
All too soon we reach the final track of the album. It’s a shoegaze-pop number called ‘Blossom’ and it rounds out our journey perfectly. Its summery melodic flashes juxtaposed with gritty guitars provide the most sublime contrast, and as final songs go, it’s pretty much on the money. I just want to hit play and listen to the whole album again and again.
I absolutely love it when a new shoegaze band come into my world and blows me away like this. Scrunchie does everything I love in shoegaze, as well as subverts and moves the genre forward with their own wee flashes of genius. If you haven’t explored Scrunchie yet, get ready. because you are about to have your mind blown.
Scrunched is out digitally on June 17 2023 with cassette copies, courtesy of Boston independent label Candlepin Records, due to ship at the end of July. Head over to the Candlepin Records Bandcamp page to find out more.
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