The Millia Pink And Green: Perfect Shoegaze Harmony

 

            This is a retrospective review of the EP The Millia Pink and Green (2003) by Sway, and the eleventh review here on Track-By-Track.

            This EP is succulent.  Though ten years old, like fine wine, it only gets better with age.  It’s a perfect portrait of the shoegaze genre, and of music itself in my opinion.  There’s a beautifully overwhelming quality to it that is in part due to the compression throughout, which instead of stonewalling, enhances the artistry of the track.  Through this compression a kind of pleasantly burning sound is achieved, for lack of a better description.
            But there isn’t fire alone with this masterpiece by Sway.  Simultaneously, there’s a watery modulated sound to the guitars in most cases.  The two big names in shoegaze I tend to cite are My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive, because of the overall atmospheres and emotion that they create with their music, and The Millia Pink and Green is a revival of sorts of their main genre of music; but with a sound that instead of copying, reaches beyond the two bands’ individual styles for a third distinct part of shoegaze.  Just listening to the first track sends me into bliss, so with that in mind, you might want to find a special time and place to listen to this release.  “Like a mind-altering substance, without the risk” (look up the quotation).
            Here’s my TBT:

            The EP starts off quickly with a hit of sound.  It's immediately enveloping and classic, through huge guitar and sharp drums.  This is one of only a handful of songs I mean when I say  "shoegaze proper”.  The crisp snares ride waves of guitar delays, as the beautifully sung and wonderfully harmonized vocals, heavily drowned in reverb, create yet another atmosphere within the song.  Even though the chorus is one word, it’s addictive and massively ethereal.  The lyrics seem to be nice (from what I can understand of them), and it just feels like one of those songs you remember.  Touches of bass and glockenspiel add to the instantly classic nature of the track, which just solidifies the perfection of “Fall”.

            “Sounds Like Everyone” comes next, and is very Slowdive.  Processed and layered guitars play drums that slowly fade in over their own reverberations.  All of the guitar in the chorus brings out what it might sound like if My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless were part of Slowdive’s Souvlaki.  The vocals are harmonized and processed, and again, the compression on this track especially brings out that distinctively well-done burning sound.  The end is a complete abandon to the forces of music.  It’s a rich phased treat, and the minor key emphasizes a forceful yet soft seriousness like the darker songs by Sigur Ros.  Or perhaps this is the song I’ll be referring to in the future about that sound.

            “Sullust” is like Slowdive’s ambient work Pygmalion, but with a modern flare.  It’s an ethereal sound progressing linearly, without chorus or definable words; only the harmony of massive guitars and vocals, and an underlying drumbeat and bass that supports it well.  If there are synths in the track, they are only slightly discernible above the guitars and vocals, and what I think are synths might just be a trick of the mind induced by oceans of reverb.  It’s textured so well that it doesn't sound muddled, yet simultaneously it overwhelms the senses with harmonies through vast reverb soundscapes.

            “Ever And Ever” is the fourth track, with a great indie tom-based drumbeat, and introspective lyrics like: “Everything we are goes away / All we are is dust”.  Guitar and vocals once again amaze.  There are loads of resonant tones throughout the track, and the end brings the classic riding shoegaze-style drumbeat back.  Staggering harmonies, and sheer love come through level after level of music, which takes more than just a few listens to even begin to explore.

            The final track, “Opentillate”, is like what it would sound like if R.E.M. at their musical peak collaborated with Slowdive just before their last album, and Billy Corgan ghostwrote some guitar lines.  The levels of resonance bring a bliss to the track unparalleled in most songs, and 90s-alt-rock guitar glows beside harmonies to perfection, a soft but powerful bass, and drums that contain all the elements of the previous tracks.  How five tracks like the ones on this EP were ever brought together astounds me, because any band with one of them to their credit deserves praise.

            Overall, in a word, perfection; musical sophistication and production quality is through the roof, and I'm in love with this EP.  You can download it in CD quality for whatever price pleases you at http://sway.bandcamp.com.  Sway has since split up, leaving Andrew Saks as the sole member of Sway.  Fortunately, that means we can expect new songs from Sway in the future.  If they’re anything close to this, I can’t wait.

Here There Anywhere Like You: Me Like

            This is a review of the Here There Anywhere Like You EP (2013) by Newglads, and the ninth review here on Track-By-Track.

            This will probably be as close to pop-rock as I get with this blog.  That being said, there are enough alt-rock sounds in Here There Anywhere Like You to fit the style I’m going for with Track-By-Track.  Newglads is an Italian band formed in 2012 by Matteo Fallica (the guitarist and singer) and Christiano Belluzzo (the producer and main songwriter).  Their sound is definitely influenced by Oasis, though there are also some similarities with Radiohead, R.E.M., and Our Lady Peace, in this EP.
            This is an EP to listen to in high-quality, because it’s mastered and mixed so well (audiophile talking here), as well as performed expertly.  The songs are structured more like straight-up rock, but at times, different genres of alt-rock show themselves in the way these classic structures are played.  It’s also completely sung in English, which is interesting for a band not from a mainly English country.  A lot of times, it reminds me of the upbeat songs I grew up listening to, and the lyrical hooks and some of the melodies will stick in the brain like honey on toast.
            Here’s my TBT:

            The EP starts with “All in a Row”, which sounds a bit like like early R.E.M. and Radiohead.  Though it’s not very alternative in the Sonic Youth sense, the style is deceptive.  It’s well-produced and written, and layers of guitar bring that old-school alt-rock dimension to it.  There’s even a slide guitar solo; the solo being a long-forgotten art in modern rock, and begging to be brought back from purely metal circles.  Drums are slightly indie, but eqs make it go beyond the genre.  I must point out that listening to the different layers on this and every track on the EP is amazing at high headphone levels.  I had to resist the urge to crank it up to ear-damaging decibles.

            “Morning Lies” reminds me of a kind of pop-rock, especially the vocals, though the textured guitars again bring layers of alt-influence to the track.  There are obvious Oasis influences on this, but not to a fault.  Fast sharp drums drive the track, and bass plays support well.  Though the vocals are a bit processed-sounding, there are some great harmonies.  The end brings harmony to a climax, and everything mixes well into a slightly nostalgic modernistic ending.

            “Winding Road” comes next, and though the opening guitar is a bit irksome in the beginning, the heavily-delay-effected guitar bits more than make up for it.  The chorus is really well-done, and the vocals and guitars mix well.  The bass is nearly imperceptible (on my headphones), but played well.  I feel like this track could work better with less Oasis, and more of the alt-rock influences some of it clearly displays, though it’s still a good song nonetheless.

            “Stand Till You Fall” is the fourth track.  Once again, definite Oasis influence, especially on the guitars.  Drums and percussion work well in the track, though this might be a case of too much guitar.  I know this sounds like an odd description for part of a rock track, but the amount of guitar tracks at times are kind of like having so many great colours in a painting that the overall picture is detracted from.  Fortunately, good bass, an Oasis-style solo, and some great vocal melodies and hooks make it very enjoyable.

            “Little Dreams” is slower, and has a softer sound.  Hooks galore, like much of the EP, and a great guitar solo drenched in warm reverb.  The harmonies are great, and the guitars really drive the track.  There are some acoustics buried in the track, and great bass and drums.  The lyrics are surprisingly good, and sometimes the harmonies remind me of “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” by R.E.M.

            “Unpredictable” is another Oasis-style track.  The chorus is the best part, with great harmony and softly overdriven guitars.  Bass feels just right in the mix as well.  The drums are perfectly equalized to be both addictive and not overpowering, and the vocals’ processed-sound actually enhances this one.  It’s a bit like Our Lady Peace, especially their Healthy in Paranoid Times album.  This might be the hit on the EP, because although I wasn’t totally sold in the beginning, by the time the second chorus came, I was happily completely immersed in it, and didn’t want it to end.  The levels are perfect, and instruments cut out just at the right times, to make it addictive to the extreme.

            “Whenever It Rains” is the last track on the EP.  Wonderfully, shoegaze starts the track, and this is the most alternative one on Here There Anywhere Like You.  It really sums up the power of rock, especially for fans of Radiohead’s “Blow Out” (like myself).  Lyrics are good, and drums are classic, in the 90s real-drums sense.  The last line “I’m going out in style” is exactly what this mainly shoegaze track does by ending the EP.

            Overall, this is a very enjoyable EP.  Though occasionally a little heavy on the pop-rock, it’s a strong release, and well-produced, performed, and written.  You can get Here There Anywhere Like You, and the most recent songs by Newglads in CD-quality at http://newglads.bandcamp.com, for pay-what-you-want prices.  Get out your Lennon-style glasses; here comes some new masters of melody.

(is it): It Is

            This is a review of Dead Mellotron’s newest (and possibly last) EP, (Is It) (2012), and the fourth review (and first bonus review) here on Track-By-Track.

            I first heard Dead Mellotron when I was searching for shoegaze and dream pop bands on Bandcamp.  I’ve found quite a few great bands that way, which is likely a main reason why the huge labels are scared of the digital era.  I was still really forming my ideas about what shoegaze and dream pop are when I found Dead Mellotron’s 2009 release, Ghost Light Constellation.  This EP just about confuses the two sub-genres further, but in a good way.
            (is it) is a great gapless EP, after which you won’t know what hit you.  Even though there are just four tracks, its emotionally powerful effect is enough to merit loads more poetry than I could write into this review.  I’ll save it for the next Eliot, or Whitman, or a different blog of my own (egotism intended).
            In the meantime, here’s my TBT:

            The EP starts with “Fade In/Out”.  The first thing I wrote about this track was: It sounds like the sun, if it could speak in music.  This is dream-pop heaven, with warbling synth pads, dreamy vocals, and hard yet loving drums.  Dead Mellotron has done it again.  The harmonies bring the song up, but the synths drive you straight above the clouds.  Even though there have been some great tracks from Dead Mellotron before, this stands out as an amazing musical achievement for Dead Mellotron, like R.E.M.’s “The Great Beyond”, but solidly in the dream-pop sub-genre.

            “Weird Dreams” is the second track, which has some great shoegaze guitars, within the scope and breadth of its total dream-pop.  It’s like there’s a string section, without the strings, with the way the guitars and synths compliment each other.  The lyrics are sparse, and almost lo-fi-style.  The vocals sound pitch-corrected, but I couldn’t care less with the atmosphere this track brings.  The deep bass drives it home, and the drums, though obviously samples, remind of My Bloody Valentine.

            The third track, “Vacation”, is a vacation from lyrics and vocals.  It’s heavily compressed and modulated to the extreme, yet without the stonewalling that most songs and remasters have now.  It’s like a coda by Kevin Shields himself, with synths and guitars, even though I don’t know whether there are any synths, or if this is a track in which there really was a labyrinth of pedals near the guitarist's shoes.  It leads gently into the last track.

            “Vacation II” is a continuation of the previous track, but by no means instrumental.  The vocals return, as feint whispers of a mood, without form to really give shape to recognizable words.  Great choral-style samples, and just enough echo, mixed with a strong drumbeat and ocean of guitar; and the deep bass is more noticeable when they cut out.

            Overall, it's like a great tape of music was left out in the sun, and was warped, and that somehow made it better.  It’s instantly replayable, and each listen brings some new part of it to light.  This whole EP solidifies Dead Mellotron’s place in the shoegaze/dream pop crossover that few artists exemplify as well.  Sadly, this might be the last we hear from Dead Mellotron (they've announced through Facebook that their last gig is in July), so this might be a kind of Abbey Road.  You can download this EP for pay-what-you-want, and more from Dead Mellotron, at http://deadmellotron.bandcamp.com.  Like a room filled with sunlight and warmth, outside a snowy mountain (like the one on the cover), it’s a secretive and warm EP, with qualities that defy explanation.  This is why I love dream pop.