When the morning sun hurts too much after bouts of menopausal insomnia, and it’s hard to crawl out of bed, there’s one tune that will give me that much-needed shot of vitamin D. It’s got a bounce like Tigger, but scratches with its sharp talons. It’s from the era of Britpop but was deemed “shoegazing”.Continue reading “Music As Vitamin D”
Tag Archives: Shoegazing
Album Review: Mint Field-Aprender a Ser
The new album from Mexican duo Mint Field , is evocative of 4AD big hitters like Cocteau Twins and His Name Is Alive, but with their own unique spin on the template. It’s gauzy, dreamlike and a little disconcerting, as the best Dream pop always is. Estrella del Sol’s vocals caress, while remaining unsettling. SheContinue reading “Album Review: Mint Field-Aprender a Ser”
Album Review: Candy Claws- Ceres & Calypso In The Deep Time
Shoegazing as a primary influence is having a late blooming revival of late- witness Chemical Brothers and their comeback single with Halo Maude, ‘Live Again’, which feels woozy and spiky. So it makes sense that this gorgeous, elusive record is being reissued again as it turns a decade old. The Colorado trio Candy Claws –Continue reading “Album Review: Candy Claws- Ceres & Calypso In The Deep Time”
Why Shoegazing Endures
It’s funny, but shoegazing in the late eighties and early nineties was supposed to be a fad in British music, something that lasted as long as a teen crush. Taking as its sonic template sixties psychedelia, Goth, Cocteau Twins dreaminess and the melding of noise and beauty you could find in Sonic Youth’s ground-breaking midContinue reading “Why Shoegazing Endures”
Garlands Is 40
More people seem familiar with later work from Cocteau Twins but their debut album Garlands is still beautiful. Having just turned forty, I thought this record was worth a reappraisal. Featuring the original lineup of Liz Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie, the original sound was dark, dense and as tight as a boa constrictor.Continue reading “Garlands Is 40”
Album Review: Hatchie- Giving The World Away
Harriette Pilbeam is the singer- songwriter behind Hatchie. This new release is effervescent dream pop, confident sounding, featherlight but with a little bittersweetness. ‘Lights On’ and ‘The Key’ have Cocteau Twins in the shimmering, chiming sound, while 80s and 90s jukebox favourites like Depeche Mode, New Order and St Etienne loom large, in the bigContinue reading “Album Review: Hatchie- Giving The World Away”
Just Step Sideways: My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything
Isn’t Anything is a game changer. My Bloody Valentine had started out as a kind of pale Cramps type, floundering in attempts at slinky garage. It was when vocalist Dave Conway left, replaced by Bilinda Butcher, that things really started to happen. There had always been a swooning, dreamy quality to tracks like Strawberry Wine,Continue reading “Just Step Sideways: My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything”
Hit The North 