Weekly Shoegaze / Dreampop / Psychedelic / Indie Tips – SEPTEMBER #39 – 22
Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022)
PICKS OF THE WEEK:
- London-based dark dream pop /electropop solo project of singer-songwriter Graham Sampson , AKA Beautiful Mechanica “Dreams Are Crashing” single
Spellbinding dream-pop storytelling from the dark romantic soul of British artist Graham Sampson AKA Beautiful Mechanica, alternating Autumnal brightness and velvety shadows, radiates intoxicating crystalline, echoing Robin Guthrie-sque guitar melodies, amid sinuous warm bass palpitations, over disenchanted impassioned vocals, dropping pain and pity into a beautiful melancholy of impassioned cries, over a tale of a life wasted to imposter syndrome where deception, loneliness, and a heart of stone are all that is left as the “Dreams are Crashing” down.
- Mexico City based dream pop solo project Vuelve el Amigo. “Dept.” (Single)
Celestial dream pop spell from a fragile heart wobbles along with a dreamlike grace led by hypnotic heart-skipping beats, knocking percussive hits, tinkling stacking chords and wistful shiny synth sweeps into reflective shadowy trails of broken dreams imbued by wispy, melancholic vocals, helplessly hiding from distant droning echoes over a hypnotic head space of heartbroken moods.
- Seattle-based jangle /power-pop /indie pop trio of former Math and Physics Club members Kevin Emerson and Ethan Jones alongside bassist Jen Fox, AKA Model Shop “Letters To Melissa” first single from the upcoming debut vinyl LP “Love Interest” on Meritorio Records
Curiously a couple of truly captivating singles dropped this week from the former full lineup of Matinee Recordings-affiliated Seattle-based group Math and Physics Club. Alongside Charles Bert‘s Field School, the other two members with bassist Jen Fox AKA Model Shop, via the always-on-track Spanish label Meritorio Records, conjure up Lemonheads swooning powerpop harmonies with evocative R.E.M. jangly tones. “Letters to Melissa” is a secret confession of everything a guy wishes he could tell a girl but is afraid to, swept in an urgent intertwining of vibrant hypnotic rhythms with crisp sparkling guitar melodies, and breathless heartfelt vocals, rising and falling with airy backup energies into an angsty lilt of restless longing moods.
- UK ambient /shoegaze /post-rock /electronic /spoken word project of Steve Queralt (bass player of pioneering shoegazers RIDE) and writer and film-maker Michael Smith, Steve Queralt & Michael Smith “Vespertina” off 4-track EP ” Sun Moon Town” upcoming on Bytes
- Berlin based experimental /indie pop trio led by Swedish singer and keyboardist Linnea Mårtensson (formerly of duo Featherweights), Matching Outfits “It Keeps Happening” from the album “Band Made Out Of Sand” on Kitchen Leg Records
- New Orleans, Louisiana electronic /dream pop /synth-pop act People Museum “Reason” from the vinyl 12″ EP “Destruction of, Vol. 1” via Strange Daisy Records and Community Records.
- San Francisco indie rock singer, songwriter and musician (of Torrey & Aluminum), Ryann Gonsalves “Scared Little Shit” from Self-Titled EP tape via Discontinuous Innovation Inc.
- Bologna, Italy based boogie /synth-pop /disco outfit started by percussionist Paolo Volkov, AKA Marxist Love Disco Ensemble “1905” off debut album “MLDE” on MR BONGO
- Geneva, Switzerland French pop /analog synth-pop duo Citron Citron “La nuit galope” from upcoming LP “Chagrin Bleu” on Les Disques Bongo Joe
- 1994 founded, Kraut /Psychedelic /Space Rock /Electronic band led by Detroit‘s musician Randall Nieman (formerly of Windy & Carl), FUXA“Help Me Please (Spectrum cover) from the upcoming vinyl album “Covered In Stars” (featuring members of Luna, Spacemen 3, Slowdive, Spectrum, Add N To (X), The Vacant Lots, Spiritualized, Slipstream and more) on Rocket Girl
- San Francisco, Ca indie /dream pop /slowcore 4-piece fronted by singer/guitarist Karina Gill, CINDY “Thin As Flags” from V/A “Typical Girls Volume 6” compilation on Emotional Response
- Anonymous UK lo-fi /art pop /noise /dream pop /shoegaze duo The Gabys “Theresa” from upcoming s/t EP 7″ on fruits & flowers
- London, UK indie rock /shoegaze /psychedelic rock solo project (FKA Forever Fatale), Revolverines “Saviour” (demo)
- Rome, Italy kraut /space rock /psychedelic rock trio Modern Stars “Drowning” from the upcoming third album “Space Trips For The Masses”
- NYC alt /psychedelic punk band Acid Dad “Get Me High” from “Get Me High” 7” single via The Reverberation Appreciation Society and Greenway Records
- Austin, Texas legendary psychedelic rockers, The Black Angels “Vermillion Eyes” from “Wilderness of Mirrors” LP on Partisan Records
- Leipzig, Germany kraut /noise pop trio Mellie “Free Field” from the debut album “I Have Ideas, Too” upcoming on Adagio 830
- Cologne, Germany shoegaze /indie rock /post-punk /krautwave trio Kratzen “Glauben” from the sophomore LP “KRATZEN zwei”
- Los Angeles-based lo-fi kraut/psychedelic pop project of musician Joe Stevens, aka Peel Dream Magazine ”Hiding Out” from the upcoming LP ”Pad” on Tough Love
- L.A. bedroom pop /dream pop /indie folk artist Ray Daisies “Love Bite” single
- Brisbane, Australia surf indie-pop western gaze 4-piece The Double Happiness ‘Drive In’ from The Double Happiness’ sophomore album “Roadhouse” on 4000 Records
- Richmond, Virginia bedroom pop /indie rock artist (part of Wild Nothing’s live band), Jeff Haley “Forgotten Exposures” from the third album “Forgotten Exposures”
- Dallas//Toronto indie rock /shoegaze outfit New Avenues “Reticent” single from the forthcoming debut LP
- Portland, OR bedroom pop /surf rock /dream pop solo project Bathrobe “Illusion” single on BIRTHDIY
- Seattle jangle indie pop new solo project of former Math and Physics Club member Charles Bert, AKA Field School “I Just Want to Paint You in Pictures” from upcoming debut LP “When Summer Comes” on Bobo Integral
- Early ’90s UK Britpop /indie rock band Thousand Yard Stare “Esprit Du Corps” (Single) final instalment of Stifled Aardvark Records‘ Singles Series
- Columbus, OH jangle /C86 /indie pop band The Fours “Lately” from 2-track single “Lately / Nobody Wants Me” via World of Birds Records
- Cork, Ireland dream pop/indie rock band formed in 1992, Emperor of Ice Cream “I See You Everywhere” single on FIFA Records
- New York‘s mid-90s cult indie-pop /new wave band My Favorite “Dean’s 7th Dream” from the upcoming album “Tender Is the Nightshift: Part 1” on wiaiwya and HHBTM Records
- UK indie pop solo project flatheadstanley “Crash N Burn” single
- New York jangly indie rock band led by ex-Panel of Judges frontman and Melbourne-native luminary Dion Nania, Free Time “Half Measures” from upcoming third studio album in 8 years “Jangle Jargon” via Bedroom Suck Records / Dispatch Dept.
- Ithaca, NY surf rock /power pop /psych pop project of Colin Boyd, AKA Siamese Bikes “No Kissing” single
- Bergen, Norway synth-pop /indie pop duo Love Dance “Parallel Lines” from upcoming 7″ single “Parallel Lines / PSF” via Too Good To Be True label’s new single club series
- Seattle, Wa jangle pop/indie trio Cozy Slippers “Haunting Her” from the upcoming album “Cozy Slippers” on Subjangle and Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten
- Athens, Greece indie rock /post-punk band The Riverside Walkers “We Saw the Devil Coming” from the 2-track single “Don’t Hesitate It’s OK”
- Glasgow, Scotland shoegaze /noise /indie rock band led by the DIY singer, songwriter Chris Devine, AKA Western Column “Club Orange” single on Negative Hope Records
- Ontario based bedroom pop /indie rock duo Chemical Club “Hell in a Heatwave” from “Pale Blue” EP on Arts & Crafts.
- Munich, Germany indie /dream pop solo project Phantom Youth “AIIWO” sophomore single
- Chilean dream pop /noise /indie synth pop solo project from Santiago, FLORES “Mi herida” from the album “Aporías en el corazón” on Gemelo Parásito Records
- L.A. dream pop /indie rock solo project Windser “Capsize” from upcoming debut EP “Where the Redwoods Meet the Sea”
- Montreal, Canada indie rock /jangle pop 4-piece Prism Shores “Vanishing Point” from the album “Inside My Diving Bell”
- Boston, UK based twee /jangly /indie-pop duo, comprising of Liam James Marsh (Kid Chameleon) and Alice Kat, AKA Fine “9 Years” single from the upcoming LP
- Ottawa, Canada dream pop /shoegaze /indie rock duo SOFTCULT “One Of A Million” single on Easy Life Records
- Portland, OR queer jangly indie-pop band The Crystal Furs “We Never Sang” new single from the debut album “In Coastal Light” via Reckless Yes
- England, UK indie rock /jangle pop /’bockety pop’ trio The Happy Somethings “More Coffee (Original)” from the EP “More Coffee – Fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support“
- L.A. based indie /dream pop /synthpop band Blue Velvet Drapes “Vanilla” single
- Portland, OR electronic /synthpop /dream-pop duo of Hollie and Keith Kenniff (aka Helios, Goldmund), Mint Julep “Take My Breath Away” (Berlin cover)
- Copenhagen based dream /indie pop four-piece KINDSIGHT “Love You Baby All the Time” from the new album “Swedish Punk” on Rama Lama Records.
- Madison, WS dream /psych pop recording project by multi-instrumentalist, Trent Prall, aka KAINALU “Inhibitions / Intuitions (ft. MUNYA)” single
- Seoul, South Korea Lo-Fi /Indie Rock /Shoegaze /Post Rock collaboration Parannoul & Asian Glow “흰자 (The Light Side of the Eyes)” off of the album “Paraglow”
- Toronto, Ontario atmospheric shoegaze solo project of Daniel Monkman, AKA Zoon “Play Ground” from “A Sterling Murmuration” EP via Paper Bag Records.
- Brisbane, Australia dream pop /shoegaze band Pole Star “Chernushka Was Fine” from “Atlas Is Trying Her Best” EP
- Durham, NC emo /noise pop /shoegaze band Sweet homé “Ghost” from the upcoming debut album “Advice”
- France-based dream pop /shoegaze collaborative music project started by British musician Andrew Rose in 1984, Callière “Tombstones (93MillionMilesFromTheSun remix)”
- Canadian dream-punk /shoegaze band from Montreal led by Jasamine White-Gluz, aka NO JOY “Shame Cave” from “Negaverse” EP on Hand Drawn Dracula
- Rancho Cucamonga, Ca r&b/noise /post-shoegaze band led by multi-instrumentalist Matt Wainwrigh, aka COLD GAWD “Gin” from the vinyl debut album “God Get Me the Fuck Out of Here” on DAIS
- Chicago-area alt-rock/shoegaze duo, The Burying Kind (TBK) “Coming Through (album version)” lead single from The Burying Kind’s upcoming full-length album “Tragic Airwaves”
- English alt /grunge /shoegaze band Oversize “Taste” from “Into the Ceiling” EP
- Sheffield, UK based art-rock /shoegaze band NEW GHOST “Dreamsong” from 3 track EP “Rectify” soon on ltd. CD via Shore Dive Records
- Cincinnati, Oh garage /dream pop /shoegaze /dream punk band Leggy “Lipstick on the Mic” single
- New York noise pop trio of Mari Softie (Ratas del Vaticano, Tercer Mundo, Exotica, and Pobreza Mental), Jolie M-A (Juicy II, Boys Online) and vocalist Anni Hilator, AKA Ribbon Stage “Exaltation” from the upcoming album “Hit With The Most” on K Records and perennialdeath
- Oakland, Ca based lo-fi /shoegaze /dream pop /sadcore project by Haley Butters, aka ABSINTHE FATHER “Ender” single
- Brighton, UK-based dream pop /noise-pop /indie rock trio CIEL “Back To The Feeling” from upcoming EP “Not In The Sun, Nor In The Dark”
- Swiss indie /garage rock all-girl 4-piece from Zürich, BATBAIT “Babysteps” from the album “Dirty Clothes”
- Philadelphia, PA pop punk /indie rock band Remember Sports “Supervise” from “Leap Day” EP on Father/Daughter Records
- UK lo-fi /bedroom /dream /indie pop duo Harper – “Headlock” first single off upcoming EP “Spider”
- Los Angeles based psychedelic pop artist Space Equator “Keep ME Down” from debut self-titled album upcoming on Sundog Sound
- Japanese ambient /jazz /post-rock guitarist-composer based in Tokyo, Yutaka Hirasaka “Time goes by” single
- Manchester, UK indie folk singer-songwriter Catherine Burgis AKA Test Card Girl “Like A Train” from “The Fly” EP
- New Zealand folk singer-songwriter Maxine Funke “Room In The City” from the upcoming album “Pieces Of Driftwood” (a collection of non-album singles, tracks recorded for compilations, and new material) on Disciples
- Mexican/US ambient /ethereal /dream pop /darkwave /synthwave collaborative project of Victoria C. and Meg Wilhoite (Death of Codes), AKA Fotopsia “Whisper” from the in-progress debut album “Paper Tears”
- Baltimore, MD mid-’80s lo-fi /bedroom pop /indie pop cassette artist (member of 80s post-punk band The Woods), Linda Smith “Variation 5” from the cassette album “Themes and Variations”
