dream pop
Track: Maff – Melaniña (EP)
My favourite Chilean shoegaze exponents, Maff, today release their epic EP ‘Melaniña’after releasing two brilliant singles ‘Desfile’ and ‘Hawaii’ off the EP earlier this year. The EP opens with ‘Act 2’ with its hallmark driving, sustaining guitars and slow languorous drive in an enigmatic instrumental form. As with any successful instrumental, ‘Act 2’ conveys emotion …
Album Review: Lowtide – Southern Mind
I don’t know whether Melbourne is becoming the shoegaze/dream pop capital of the Southern Hemisphere, but the release last month of Lowtide‘s sophomore album, ‘Southern Mind’ would be compelling evidence. Some of the best music is being produced in the southern capital and Lowtide are leading the pack. ‘Southern Mind’ is a stellar collection of …
Album Review: Flowertruck – Mostly Sunny
In terms of a forecast, the title to the debut album by Sydney’s Flowertruck, ‘Mostly Sunny’ is overly pessimistic. There are no clouds on this horizon. And yet in terms of temperament – and to torturously extend the metaphor – it perfectly captures the tone of this stunning album. Bright, bouncy tunes with a hint …
Track: Polychrome – Final Kiss
London’s Polychrome have released an absolutely gorgeous single, ‘Final Kiss’ off their forthcoming sel-titled debut album. ‘Final Kiss’ is lush, dreamy electro pop at its best: layered synths, insistent riffs, crisp production and soft, breathy, enigmatic vocals that would perfectly accompany a Nicolas Winding Refn movie. It is a mesmerising, intoxicating sound full of melancholy …
Track: Soft Science – Undone/I Don’t Know Why I Love You (The House of Love)
Californian shoegaze band Soft Science are releasing a double A side single on 16 April and it is a dream pop/shoegaze delight. First song, ‘Undone’ has intricate, layered dreamy pop vocals with a distinctive instrumentation that recalls My Bloody Valentine with the volume turned down. The song is a gorgeous, lush wall of sound, mesmerising …
See: Candace – Mendocino
One of our favourite dream pop outfits, Candace have just released a video for the song ‘Menocino’ off their brilliant album ‘New Ruins’ which Backseat Mafia reviewed recently, saying it combined ‘angelic harmonies with shimmering instrumentation throughout…drawing from elements of shoegaze and dream pop in a dreamy languorous mix, eschewing bombast and bravado for subtlety …
Track: Greta Stanley – Heavy Heat plus tour news
Hailing from the far north of Queensland, Australia, Greta Stanley has just released a gorgeous new single from her debut album ‘Full Grown’ released late last year. ‘Heavy Heat’ captures a sunny languorous feel of the tropical north, imbued with a sense of self-reflection and wistfulness. Stanley’s voice paints a beautiful, melancholic dreamscape on the …
Album Review: Candace – New Ruins
Today sees the release of the quite frankly gorgeous album ‘New Ruins’ by Portland, Oregon band Candace. I reviewed the single ‘Rewind’ off the album recently, noting the song’s ‘sun-bleached layered harmonies over crisply produced crystalline shards of guitar, Alpine-proportioned melodies and a bass line that manages to serve the song yet create its own …
Album Review: Wild Meadows – Wild Meadows
The debut album from Melbourne’s Wild Meadows is, quite simply put, a promise delivered. Last year we enthusiastically reviewed their debut single ‘Feel the Noise’ and observed it was a ‘classic shoegaze anthem redolent with swirling vocals, waves of sparkling guitar and gob-smacking choruses grander than the Simpson Desert’. The self titled album – available …
Track: Hatchie – Sure (Robyn Guthrie Remix) and tour news
It was way back in June 2017 that our attention was grabbed by Brisbane songwriter Hatchie with her debut single ‘Try’, having just attracted a management deal and on the cusp of a global expansion. Now, only eight months later, Hatchie has been signed by highly respected Heavenly Recordings for UK/Europe and Double Double Whammy/Polyvinyl …