Blue Haze: Psych-Gaze

            This is a review of the EP Blue Haze (2012) by Wild Eyes, and the seventh review on this blog.

            Instead of talking about how I found yet another amazing band, I'll talk about its sound.  Fans of My Bloody Valentine and psych-rock alike will likely find common ground in enjoying this EP.  It has loads of reverb, but also general alt-rock influences, and melodies to die for.
            This is an inspiring EP, and deserving of mention, despite its barely 14 minute length spread over 4 songs.  Wild Eyes is an LA-based shoegaze band, but their sound doesn’t feel Hollywood-ized (overly pop-ish), with drone vocals and a sound in between a happy kind of more-structured goth-rock, and psychedelic-shoegaze.
            Here’s my TBT:

            “Blue Haze” starts the EP.  The opening is great, and the track carries its shoegaze soul to the max.  I think I hear some resonators in there, though it might just be amazing guitar eq.  Vocals are slightly psych-rock, but they don’t betray the track’s shoegaze roots.  Drums nearly blast the track into a new century, without seeming too fast or high in the mix.  It's probably my favorite track on the EP.

            “Ride” brings together feedback, an energetic (and heavily compressed) drumbeat, soft drone vocals, and great bass and guitar collaboration, and puts them right in the reverb chamber.  It has a certain kind of psychedelia about it, which is a good example of the EP's psychedelic influence or direction.  When feedback is used properly, like in this song, it sounds mind-altering.

            “When It’s Over” is the pop song, if the rest of the album were straight up rock.  MBV-style glide-guitar solos gently raise the chorus’s drone-vox to ecstasy, and the cymbals are just in that perfect frequency (pitch and tempo) zone for addictiveness.  It reminds me of parts of Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii movie, especially when the lead guitar's single-tone glide-guitar delves into an even deeper atmosphere than the other tracks.

            “Summer” is more indie, and the guitar and vocal eqs shoot down to near-mid-range bandpasses.  Not a lot of high-freq stuff, except the once-again addictive hi-hat.  I wouldn’t have ended on this one, because the other tracks are more complex, both melodically and equalization-wise.  I’m not against indie, but when it comes to shoegaze, it rarely mixes perfectly for my tastes, though it's still worthwhile listening to this song.

            Overall, the EP is a strong psych-shoegaze work, and Wild Eyes is releasing new material later in the month, which, given the consistency of Blue Haze, should be great. You can stream Blue Haze EP for free at http://wildeyestheband.bandcamp.com, and purchase a CD-quality download of it at the same link.

Desert Love for Lonely Graves: A Shoegaze Sandstorm

            This is a review of the album Desert Love for Lonely Graves (2013) by the Italian band Weird. (period after name intentional), and the fifth review on this blog.

            This is yet another band I stumbled across during my random shoegaze searches.  Upon my first listen, I thought the instruments were all played by different people, and it came as a surprise that one person -- Marco Barzetti -- played and wrote almost everything on Desert Love for Lonely Graves.  This album makes me think of an extra-wide shot of a distant fight between two cowboys in the desert somewhere in Nevada, or in Mexico.  The soft yet overpowering reverb is something that takes a little while to get used to, but the opening track is your portal to understanding the rest of the album, if you aren’t used to alt-rock songs.
            It has a substantially dry sound: There aren’t any prevalent watery sounds like Slowdive or Ride, and the vocals are sometimes used like psych-rock drones.  This doesn’t qualify just as shoegaze, but I can’t think of a better description of its sound.  If Western-Shoegaze were a genre, this would be it -- or perhaps, considering the speed of the internet, this is it.  I found listening to the album in track-order an enjoyably immersive experience.
            Here’s my TBT:

            “Dark Was The Sky, Cold Was The Rain” opens the album with a track perfectly suited to introducing the rest of the album, filled to the brim with sounds of sand and maize.  Definitely listen to this one first, because it sets up the rest of the album perfectly.  It’s surrounded in storm-clouds of reverb, and has a thick atmosphere of an all-expansive yet concentrated energy.  Huge bass, long guitar and vocal trails, and slow yet powerful drums.  It’s like all the base-tracks are being fed a constant energy, that somehow translates without that horrid damp power-line hiss.

            “Echo & The Lullaby” follows, with psychedelic harmonies fed through a slightly spring-style reverb, and though the lyrics (or what little of them I can discern) are minimal, the real treat is the dancing vocals playing well with the instruments.  It’s downbeat, with hints of that post-rock HDR-like quality.  There are a few mastering blips in the track, but those won’t be too noticeable amidst the power feeding your ears.  The feedback at the end is to die for.

            “A New Beginning” is a Radiohead-reminiscent track, and begins the somewhat upbeat tracks in the album.  It’s the only track that was not fully written by Barzetti; Matteo D'Argenio co-writes the lyrics, though it’s almost impossible to discern any lyrics in this and all the other songs. The drums are slow and lamenting, the guitar and bass like a driving sea, and I’m always a glutton for falsetto.  The different melodic structures in the song perfectly compliment each other.  This might be my favourite track on the album.

            The 4th track, “Desert Love”, doesn’t have the same atmosphere as the rest of the album, and it’s the only track that breaks its considered mood.  It’s a little indie for my liking, and the vocals don’t have the same quality as the other songs, though there are some great violin-like sounds in this one.  It’s the quickest on the album, too.

            “The Moan” follows, with its beach-party-esque sound, which is abruptly broken (or perhaps complimented) by a metal-influenced drive.  Drums are amazing, especially the first time they really make themselves known.  Some heavily driven bass is underneath a cleaner track, and the loud parts of this song bring back memories of my metalhead phase.  The softer parts are very moody, and nighttime-ish.  Get ready for more psych-rock drones, lifts, and falls.

            “Sundive” is the second-last track, and the shoegaze influence is strongly audible.  The frequencies compliment each other very well, and it makes me think of the second half of the album’s title.  It feels a little long, but this album doesn’t really seem to be about individual tracks; it creates an overall parched-ness that quenches as it desiccates.

            “Druggirl” finishes the album at an astonishing 9:36.  It starts off with some finality-sounding driving power, which is present in a lot of the track, thankfully, and continues towards its total western-shoegaze destination.  The bass leads this one for sure.  It pretty much sums up the experience of the album, but with a tinge of a goodbye.  If the rest of the album were a movie, this would be the the walking into the sunset, and the big-letter credits.  I won’t spoil what comes after the fake-out endings.

            Overall, a great album, in quite possibly a new sub-genre.  By far, Weird. already has an iconic, shoegaze sandstorm of a sound, and you can check out http://weird1.bandcamp.com, for free streaming and downloading.  And get corn-chips and salsa.  You’re gonna want those with your sonic meal.