Shoegaze – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Honey’s Dead (2009 reissue)

The Jesus and Mary Chain came out swinging on their 1992 album (their fourth) Honey’s Dead. First, the title refers to their hit “Just Like Honey” and how they’ve decided to move on from it, so get on the train or get off the tracks. Then, the first line of the opening track, “Reverence,” is “I wanna die just like Jesus Christ.” The song was banned across many BBC airwaves for that lyric (along with “I wanna die like JFK.”) and its repeated apparent references to suicide – which were actually about letting go of relationships and the ego.

There’s no hidden meaning behind “Teenage Lust.” It is what’s advertised. William Reid‘s guitars sound like they’re being banged around in a tool & dye plant. “Far Gone and Out” is still one of JAMC’s biggest hits, and it has Jim Reid singing about a woman he wants to teach a lesson (“No one works so hard just to make me feel so bad.”).

His brother, William, on the other hand, has much better things to say about the subject of “Almost Gold” – a woman who was the closest he’d come to perfection by that point in his life. HIs guitars on “Sugar Ray” roar and growl like angry wasps as he tries to tell a woman that he’s not like “All those boys [who] have fun with toys. All I want is you.”

“Tumbledown” has Jim Reid dealing with the fallout of another lover who’s nothing but trouble, while Steve Monti, bringing a nice return of live drumming to the band, knocks out frantic beats. “Catchfire” is a standout if you love some psychedelia mixed with your shoegaze. The title might be a drug reference. After all, the album was recorded in their studio they’d named the “Drugstore.”

Jim Reid finally finds Mrs. Right (Now?) on “Good for My Soul” – a downright lovely shoegaze song giving praise to a woman who “Ever since she came I’ve been whole, believe me.” “Rollercoaster” is an early 1990s rock gem with William Reid trying to forgive his past after others have already done so (and Monti nails some killer beats in the meantime). On “I Can’t Get Enough,” he sings “Honey, you’re so cool” to a woman, but you really don’t believe him. His brother’s guitar work highlights his snarky frustration.

By the time we get to “Sundown,” William Reid is ready to give up. “The planet poisoned me. It’s a sick place to be. I’ve got a taste for it. Now I’ve gotta leave.” “Frequency” is the sibling to “Reverence,” which much the same lyrics but with William Reid on vocals and extra guitar crunch and shredding sprinkled on top.

Honey’s Dead was (and still is) a good record, and a second launching point for the band to explore more options and sounds. Don’t skip it.

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Blackwater Holylight announce new EP, “If You Only Knew,” with its first single – “Wandering Lost.”

Blackwater Holylight crafts music that offsets airiness and immediacy. Today [February 26, 2025], the Los Angeles, CA band announces their new EP, If You Only Knew, out April 18, 2025 via Suicide Squeeze Records. Though it clocks in at just four tracks, the EP traverses countless cosmic peaks and sludgy valleys. The band has also shared the single “Wandering Lost,” premiering on FLOOD Magazine, which gradually evolves from atmosphere to heaviness. Over the course of almost seven minutes, metal, shoegaze, and psychedelia coalesce. The song was slowly conceptualized while Blackwater Holylight was working with acclaimed producer Sonni DiPerri (Animal Collective, DIIV, Suzanne Ciani) in Los Angeles, and mimics the mysterious, sometimes painful chapters of life by shifting between multiple movements. Like all of Blackwater Holylight’s material, there is an ample dose of beauty to be found beneath “Wandering Lost”‘s snarling exterior.

On “Wandering Lost,” singer, guitarist, and bassist Sunny Faris shares: “‘Wandering Lost’ came to us in pieces throughout a handful of weeks in Los Angeles. The four of us intentionally wanted this song to have multiple parts to tell a story that takes you on a journey throughout. This song is very special to us because it represents us as musicians individually and is a perfect reflection of what we’ve created as a group. It’s a song about wandering through the chapters of life, curiosity, and the connection we all have to each other through the unknown of how it will all unfold.”

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[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

Triathalon releases appropriately titled “RIP” from their upcoming “Funeral Music” album.

Triathalon — the New York-based trio of Adam Intrator, Chad Chilton and Hunter Jayne — announces its new album, Funeral Music, out May 16th on Lex Records, and presents the lead single/video, “RIP.” Funeral Music, the band’s fifth album, began taking shape when the band imagined what they’d like played during their memorials. Continuously referencing “play this at my funeral” throughout writing and recording, the album became a realization of this concept. Lead single “RIP” is a 90s-influenced rock track inspired by artists like Pixies, Deftones, and Nirvana. Adam Intrator says, “The aim for ‘RIP’ was to kick start feelings on what it felt like to listen to a late 90s rock song for the first time as a kid in your parents car in the backseat and asking to hear it louder. ‘RIP’ has a double meaning; it’s about both dying and being reborn.”

Watch/Stream “RIP”

Born out of a period of heartbreak, growing pains, and self discovery, Funeral Music showcases a darker, more vulnerable side of the band. With a more minimal approach, every element within the album is highlighted, from cleaner guitar tones, to live-tracked drums, to first-take vocals mixed with singular piano playing and experimental production. Funeral Music not only reflects the band’s sonic shift but also reinvents the overall dynamics between their sound, energy, and workflow. These songs were written, demoed, recorded, and mixed in various places, bedrooms, studios, and houses over the course of two years and is the band’s strongest and most cohesive work to date.

Pre-order Funeral Music

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Automatic (2009 reissue)

The Jesus and Mary Chain‘s 1989 album (their third), Automatic, is the second one to be made by the Reid brothers, William and and Jim, with backing from a drum machine and synth-bass. Some fans derided this back in the day, but the album is now considered another classic from them.

Opening track “Here Comes Alice” is a full-out rock ode to a hot lady on a hot summer day. “Coast to Coast” is another sizzler and perfect for fast driving down long highways (“I got a cat-scratch engine, takes me on the road. Wheels get back rolling to the world I know. Take me just as far as I can go.”). The guitars on this are great – roaring one moment and squealing the next.

“Blues from a Gun” is one of TJAMC’s biggest hits, even reaching the top spot on the U.S. “Modern Rock” charts back in 1989. It’s about someone misreading a situation that they think is romantic but is strictly platonic (“If you’re talking for real, then go cut a deal. You’re facing up to living out the way that you feel.”). It’s no surprise it was a big hit, because it hits all the right notes. The chugging guitars and sharp but simple electric drum beats perfectly mix together.

“Between Planets,” a song about a woman who might be schizophrenic, is so catchy it could’ve been the theme to an MTV show in the late 1980s. The programmed drums are heavy on “UV Ray,” and the machine-like guitar riffs (mixed with a bit of surf!), give the song a bit of an industrial dance club feel. “Her Way of Praying” has Jim Reid singing about a woman who drives him crazy with her “hip dippin’ trick of all time done right.”

“Head On” was so popular that Pixies went on to cover it on their Trompe Le Monde album. It’s easy to see why it was an influence on them: Quieter verses mixed with loud choruses and louder guitars. “Take It” is about giving yourself to a lover and not worrying about anything else.

“Catch me ’cause I’m falling apart,” Jim Reid sings on “Halfway to Crazy” – a song about, you guessed it, going mad in a world that’s even crazier than you are. “Gimme Hell” is appropriately heavy as Jim Reid sings / growls about a cantankerous relationship that threatens to singe both parties. The drug reference of “Drop” is hard to miss, as William Reid sings about seeking solace after a breakup (“I should have guessed when I took that pill. Do I love her still?”). The album ends with the drum-heavy instrumental “Sunray.”

It would be interesting to hear these tracks with live drums and bass, but they’re all good and all influenced generations of musicians.

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Review: Bonnie Trash – Mourning You

The thing about grief is that it comes on hard and unrelenting in the first few months, or even the first year. After that, you learn to live with it, to work with it, to manage it, but you never know when it will come out of nowhere and flatten you.

Bonnie Trash do a deep dive into grief, and looming spectre of death, on their new full-length album, Mourning You. Opening, after an instrumental intro to set the creepy mood, with “Veil of Greed,” lead singer Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor admits that she’s helpless before such a powerful force (“I bow down before you, and I know you feed.”) while twin sister Emmalia knocks out industrial-meets-doom riffs.

“My Love Remains the Same (Kisses Goodbye)” is beautiful. It could be a Psychedelic Furs track in another dimension somewhere. Emma Howarth-Withers‘ bass line locks in the whole track while Sarafina says final goodbyes to a loved one…or at least tries to do so (“My love remains the same, and I won’t let you go.’). The song is surprisingly upbeat and primed for radio play by somewhat subversive DJs looking to sneak a great goth track past their programming directors.

“I wish it was different, but I see you in my dreams every night,” Serafina sings, tricking you into first thinking “Hellmouth,” despite its title, is going to be a love song…and it is, but it’s a song about how the amount you loved someone will equal the amount of grief you will experience after they’re gone. Trust me on this.

Dana Bellamy‘s hammering drums on “Haunt Me (What Have You Become)” almost knock your teeth down your throat at first, but then turn into a stressed heartbeat. It’s a song that belongs on the soundtrack for The Babadook (one of the best movies about grief I’ve seen). “and in the end, I’ll wait for you” reveals the band’s love of Joy Division. I mean, listening to Howarth-Withers’ bass and tell me she’s not a fan of Peter Hook. “I will like awake, living through my life,” Serafina sings, evoking images of her “Longing for all the times we shared…” as she wonders how she can go on alone.

“Poison Kiss” is sure to be on many goth mixtapes (“Your poison kiss is a special kind of hell.”) in the future. “Please don’t leave me rotting in the ground. Please don’t leave me when you’re dead and gone. I wish I knew you better,” Serafina laments on “Your Love Is My Revenge.” “When will I see you again?” she wonders. We all wonder that after a loss. She struggles with acceptance, regret, and the loss of not only a loved one, but also of a sense of purpose and time. Emmalia sounds like she’s taking a belt sander to her guitar at some points, while Bellamy opts for simple but massive drum fills. The combination works quite well.

The album ends with the creepy, somewhat hypnotic “it eats shadows.” It’s over seven minutes of guitar drone while Serafina’s spoken word lyrics loop over and over to make the hair on the back of your neck rise.

Bonnie Trash have used heavy guitars, drums, and lyrics to sum up the massive weight of grief. It can feel like a hydraulic press crushing you, first in one sudden blow, and then slowly squeezing the life out of you. Bonnie Trash know that a crucial step to living afterwards is to express your rage. You have to release it, and this album will help.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Broncho release first new music in six years.

Oklahoma-based band Broncho announce Natural Pleasure, their first new album in six years, out April 25th, and present two singles, “Funny” and “Imagination.” Broncho – Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar), Ben King (guitar), Penny Pitchlynn (bass), and Nathan Price (drums) – has always been synonymous with reinvention, and Natural Pleasuremarks their boldest transformation yet. This long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Bad Behavior dives headfirst into lush atmospheres without abandoning the raw, gritty energy that made them a household name in indie rock. This is an album meant to be savored with headphones—a long-playing experience with rich textures and hypnotic soundscapes.

Since their breakout hit, “Class Historian,” in 2014, Broncho has been at the forefront of indie innovation, finding fans in legends like Josh Homme, Jack White, and Hayley Williams. Their music—equal parts gritty rock and dreamy psychedelia—has been featured in TV shows like Girls and Reservation Dogs, further cementing their status as cultural touchstones.

Natural Pleasure was recorded primarily at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma, with Chad Copelin, and completed at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. Tulsa remains their spiritual home, a city whose musical lineage—from Leon Russell and JJ Cale to The Flaming Lips—infuses every note they play. The album balances spontaneity with careful craftsmanship. Lindsey’s unmistakable vocal delivery is a phenomenon in its own right. His lyrics are often enigmatic, delivered in a way that feels like an instrument of pure emotion rather than straightforward storytelling. At first listen, it may be impossible to catch a single word, yet the emotional intensity he summons is undeniable. It’s a rare and uncanny ability—one that connects listeners to the music on a visceral level before the lyrics fully reveal themselves.

From the opening tracks “Imagination” and “Funny,” Natural Pleasure sets the stage for a sonic journey defined by playfulness and introspection. “Imagination” envelops listeners with layered production and Lindsey’s understated yet captivating vocals, pulling them into a divine haze of possibility. The track “was written in the early hours of a pandemic morning in my garage. I imagine the whole neighborhood might have heard me writing that one,” says Lindsey. “Funny” follows with its offbeat charm and infectious groove, encapsulating the duality of self-reflection and levity that defines the album. In Lindsey’s words, “although none of our songs are written about any one subject, funny is loosely based on my ability to steal my girlfriends jokes.”

Watch Broncho’s Video for “Funny” & Listen to “Imagination”

Listening to Natural Pleasure is a sensory journey—a plunge into a dimension where reality blurs into something more fluid and profound. With this record, Broncho reaffirms their status as indie rock stalwarts, delivering a masterpiece that’s alive, unpredictable, and deeply human.

Pre-order Natural Pleasure

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Darklands (2009 reissue)

The Jesus and Mary Chain‘s second album, Darklands (from 1987), was the first without a drummer. Bobby Gillespie had left the band to become the lead singer of Primal Scream, so drum machines were used for the percussion on the record. The Reid brothers, Jim and William share vocals throughout the album.

William is on lead vocals for the opening title track, which dials down the fuzz tones of Psychocandy, but doesn’t lose any of the groovy hooks JAMC can create. Jim sings on “Deep One Perfect Morning.” William’s strumming guitar chords on it create a shimmering effect that turns into a driving storm on the following track – “Happy When It Rains.” It’s a song about being caught in a bad relationship that sometimes feels like you have a good thing going.

Jim Reid sounds exhausted as a young man on “Down on Me,” with lyrics like “Twenty-five years of growing old. It just hangs in front of me.” William’s guitar work on it is excellent, even bringing in some surf-rock elements. “Nine Million Rainy Days” has William back on lead vocals, and he sounds like he’s been devastated by a lover (“As far as I can see, there’s nothing left of me. All my time in hell was spent with you.”). It’s a sad, haunting track and, upon hearing it again, makes me realize how much JAMC are an influence on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Jim asks for answers from a departing lover on “April Skies,” which was the first single released from the album. “Fall” (which seems to have influenced The Raveonettes) brings back some of the growling fuzz of Psychocandy as Jim tries to explain to everyone how he’s dried up from constantly being pressured by the world. “Cherry Came Too” is easily the naughtiest song on the record and a tale (with doo-wop touches!) of kinky sex and obsessive compulsion.

William returns on lead vocals for “On the Wall,” a song about being stuck in time and place and not having much motivation or opportunity to change the situation. Despite the many songs on Darklands about bad relationships, misery after a breakup, and the motivations behind love, the album ends with the hopeful “About You,” in which Jim thinks maybe it can work out this time (“You and me, we’ll win, you’ll see…There’s something warm in everything…There’s something good about you.”).

Many were expecting another loud, raucous shoegaze record after Psychocandy, but the Reid brothers took the band and their sound in a different direction for the follow-up. It was a good decision.

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Cloakroom tell “The Story of the Egg” with their newest single.

L-R Bobby Markos (Bass), Doyle Martin (Lyrics, Guitar), Tim Remis (Drums)
Photo By Vin Romero

Cloakroom’s new single, “The Story of the Egg”, is concise and boundless all at once. Sonically a duality, Cloakroom’s influence of punchy and downpicked punk of the late 70s / early 80s is matched with lush and amorphous compositions. The single is about “the new found anxiety and stress from the alertness that comes with finally feeling the otherwise positive effects of a full night’s rest,” drummer Tim Remis explains. “There was a phenomenon of feeling anxious after working with a sleep doctor, realizing I spent most of my adult life without getting rest, had dulled my human sensations. Upon getting some deep sleep and rest, my new, heightened senses were overwhelming and I was left with a different feeling of anxiety.”

Watch / Share “The Story of the Egg”

The Indiana three return next month with their next studio album, Last Leg of the Human Table – the follow up to 2022’s post-apocalyptic space western Dissolution Wave, and label debut for Closed Casket Activities. Each song showcases Cloakroom’s genre-bending capabilities and seemingly vast array of influences; whether it be the sampling of the post-disco Detroit group Was (Not Was) or the lifted NASA recording of the humming of Saturn’s rings. Recorded in December of 2023 at Electrical Audio in Chicago and Rec Room Recording in Des Plaines, Illinois, engineer Zac Montez (Whirr, Turnover) aided in smoothing out the rough and turning up the quiet.

For Cloakroom the world of modernity is in polycrisis and America has lost its soul. Narrative fetishism is all too usual of a literary mechanism for Cloakroom. If you listen closely you can hear the concern; not just for the teetering social structure but for what it means to be human and the high cost of the human experience.

Pop, shoegaze, doom, post-punk, folk only scratch the surface on Cloakroom’s shortest yet most essential release to date. Its title Last Leg of the Human Table may sound sardonic in its nature, but this group has always found some wonder in the scurrying chaos of modern life. In 37 minutes, the album imbues a sense of responsibility to the listener as if one leg were to falter, the whole table will fall.

Last Leg of the Human Table sees its release February 28 via Closed Casket, pre-order / pre-save it here.

Cloakroom have announced a headlining North American tour which kicks off in the Midwest next month. The run hits both coasts and includes dates with support from Null and performances at Slide Away 2025 in Los Angeles and New York City. See below for a full list of dates. For tickets and updates, follow Cloakroom on Instagram here.

Cloakroom Live Dates:

Mar 21: Paw Paw, MI – Lucky Wolf
Mar 22: Detroit, MI – Edgemen
Mar 23: Toronto, ON – Monarch
Mar 24: Montreal, QC – Bar le Ritz PDB
Mar 25: Kingston, NY – Tubby’s
Mar 26: Boston, MA – Deep Cuts
Mar 28: Philadelphia, PA – Ukie Club
Mar 29: Washington, DC – DC9
Mar 30: Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
Apr 01: Asheville, NC – Eulogy
Apr 02: Atlanta, GA – The Earl
Apr 03: Pensacola, FL – The Handlebar
Apr 05: Birmingham, AL – Saturn #
Apr 06: Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light #
Apr 08: Louisville, KY – Nachbar #
Apr 09: Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups #
Apr 11: Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club #
Apr 12: Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle # (Album Release Show – Tickets)
Apr 25: Brooklyn, NY – Slide Away 2025 at Market Hotel (Opening Show)
May 25: Los Angeles, CA – Slide Away 2025 at The Echoplex (Closing Show)

# w/ Null

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[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side!]

Rewind Review: Slowdive – Pygmalion (2011 reissue)

This might be one of the most divisive albums ever made.

It’s rare that you find someone like yours truly who thinks Slowdive‘s 1995 album Pygmalion is “Okay.” People seem to either love it or hate it. The lovers contend that it’s an ambient dream music masterpiece and the haters think it’s an atmospheric Neil Halstead vanity project that barely qualifies as music.

The first thing that strikes you is that there’s almost no percussion on this album. Drummer Simon Scott had left the band, and was replaced by Ian McCutcheon…who doesn’t have that much to do apart from making background noises. Don’t expect massive drum fills, cymbal crashes, or rock beats on this album. They’re not here. Acid jazz beats are, albeit quiet ones.

The album opens with “Rutti,” which is over ten minutes long and I think is about death, or perhaps embracing the process of aging. I know it’s mesmerizing if you give it a chance. “Crazy for You” starts to let more sunlight through the clouds, and Slowdive fans back in the day were probably thinking, “Here come the roaring guitars!” during its first minute…but they never arrive. It’s just mantra-like guitars and vocals for almost five minutes.

“Miranda” has unintelligible vocals from Rachel Goswell, who co-wrote it with Halstead, and looping synths that border on becoming white noise. The same goes for “Trellisaze,” but the synths are replaced with guitar strums and slow, almost mechanical hand percussion.

The quick instrumental of “Cello” leads to “J’s Heaven” – a song about depression (“Why am I so low? Isn’t life cheerful?”) with Goswell’s vocals sounding like they’re coming from a haunted well. Goswell’s vocals on “Visions of LA” are clearer, and are a beautiful song to a friend she’s trying to calm as he battles with fear.

“Blue Skied an’ Clear” is the most upbeat song on the album (even with the slow, faint drums and airy guitars and vocals), as it’s about finding encouragement in life when a lover tells you, and means it, that everything will be okay. “All of Us” seems to be about aging, and the realization that it comes to all of us at some point.

This isn’t an album you crank on your hi-fi. I wouldn’t listen to it while driving, as it might make you fall asleep some late night behind the wheel. It’s a classic “headphones record” that is best for times when you just need to lie back and look at the sky while everything races past you.

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Review: Drop Nineteens – 1991 (2025 reissue)

Back in 1991, Drop Nineteens were recording songs in their dorm rooms and sending them out on cassette to various labels in the U.S. and the U.K. These demos sat unreleased for over three decades and are now finally seeing the light of day with 1991, putting another feather in the band’s cap after touring for the first time in that long in 2023 and releasing their last new album, Hard Light, last year.

1991 (sometimes known as Mayfield in some bootleg releases) is a great slice of time and shoegaze sound. “Daymom” instantly drops you into another world that’s brighter and lusher than the one you’re experiencing right now. The gorgeous guitars, tight beats, and misty vocals are intoxicating. “Song for J.J.” has great rolling beats and more vocals you can’t quite make out but know make you feel good. The thudding bass of “Back in Our Old Bed” reminds me of early Cure tracks, and is largely an instrumental track – which I love. The drop-out in the middle with swirling vocal sounds and guitar effects is a stunner.

Female vocals chant and call in “Soapland,” making you think of sirens luring sailors to either jagged rocks or island paradises. You’re not sure which. The unofficial title track, “Mayfield,” growls like an angry cat with guitars that would make Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers sit up and smile. “Shannon Waves” hits you in waves, and is a pure instrumental that washes over you like a slow-rolling hot tub.

“Kissing the Sea” glistens like sunbeams atop the water at first, and then the drums roll in and almost change the track to an adventurous sail across a secluded bay. It’s not yacht rock by any means, but it’s just as smooth. “Snowbird” sounds like something being sun from atop a snowy mountain, so the title is appropriate. There are no drums on the first half of track, just swirling guitars and synths, but then the song grows into a thumping rocker with buzzsaw guitars everywhere.

Ending with “Another Summer,” 1991 goes out on the fastest notes of the album and is a glimmering rock track that’s perfect for your summer playlists and leaves you optimistic.

This was a stunning debut that had multiple labels scrambling to sign Drop Nineteens. Caroline Records eventually won the skirmish, and Drop Nineteens became legends.

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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]