Genre: Shoegaze/Dream Pop
Region: USA
GREAT ALBUM 5 STARS
Northern California’s Whirr could be the first band to qualify. Its 2012 album Pipe Dreams opens with “Reverse,” where a prerequisite guitar delay undulates through blankets of reverb as ethereal female vocals coo at a barely audible volume. But then the song bursts open with melodic guitar riffs, setting the stage for a memorable listening experience. “Junebouvier” is so catchy that it nearly sounds like power pop disguised as dream-pop. And anyone who appreciated the punk approach to the faster tunes on MBV’s Isn’t Anything will feel at home with “Bogus.” The slower “Flashback” boasts impressive guitar effects, but the band doesn't let such bells and whistles take center stage when there’s a beautifully sung melody to embrace.
Whirr - Wait
Whirr - Flashback
GREAT ALBUM 5 STARS
Ummagma (UA/CAN) is a Canadian-Ukrainian duo that consists of Alexx Kretov and Shauna McLarnon. The debut album “Antigravity” is a mixed-emotion experience of beautiful melancholy and uplifting euphoria all found in one album, virtually taking the listener on a journey via the band’s musical interludes. This album will appeal to fans of modern bands like Blonde Redhead and Asobi Seksu, as well as older 80s bands of the 4AD epoch (especially Cocteau Twins) and Talk Talk, with a little Sputniks Down, Robert Fripp, Brian Eno and Slowdive wedged in there too. Ummagma has essentially achieved an incredible feat of bringing together some otherwise seemingly non-combinable musical genres (post-rock/dreampop/folk rock/progressive rock/shoegaze) all within on album and they have done so rather handsomely. This album lends a sense of intrigue about what’s to come next from this dynamic duo.
Ummagma - Lama
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