-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Ambient * Ethereal *
Artist..: Ringo Deathstarr
Album...: Gods Dream
GENRE....: Indie
STYLE....: Shoegaze
LABEL....: Vinyl Junkie SCENE.....: 2015-11-27
BITRATE..: 260 kbps avg STORE.....: 2013-00-00
ENCODER..: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 TRACKS....: 9
SIZE.....: 63.41MB SOURCE....: CD
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Deathstarr
- TRACKLIST
1 Bong Load 3:04
2 Gods Dream 4:14
3 Flower Power 4:16
4 Chainsaw Morning 3:55
5 Shut Your Eyes 3:13
6 Romantic Comedy (Bonus Track) 2:29
7 Nowhere 6:06
8 Frisbee (Bonus Track) 3:26
9 Convertible (Bonus Track) 3:12
Total Playtime: 33:55
Austin shoegazers Ringo Deathstarr have released their new mini album æGods
DreamÆ in Japan via Vinyl Junkie. Hardcore fans will want to pick up the
Japanese version as it includes bonus tracks (æRomantic ComedyÆ, æFrisbeeÆ
and æConvertibleÆ). The rest of us need to sit tight til the global release
date next month, coupled with fresh tour news. The first single æFlower
Poweræ impressed and the rest of the EP doesnÆt disappoint. Guest guitarists
Adam Franklin (Swervedriver) and Jeff Schroeder (The Smashing Pumpkins) add
their talent to the diverse collection of songs. æGods DreamÆ keeps you
guessing, with ambient lullabies (æShut Your EyesÆ) contrasted with bold rock
numbers and the borderline industrial æNowhereÆ. Without a doubt, this
release includes some of Ringo DeathstarrÆs best work. Take a listen to the
dreamy title track featuring Alex Gehring on vocals, backed by some brilliant
guitar tones.
*
Ringo DeathstarrÆs newest work, EP GodÆs Dream, is a lush landscape of
constant gazes at foot apparel, all while getting lost in the void of
uncalculated, and stringing thoughts of the walls that bind our realities, or
something like that. The mini album is a collective anthology of noise,
melody, and chaos, all while erupting in a skillfully contained manner.
Beginning with ôBong Load,ö the bandÆs newest work brings the noise. While
the guitars take the duties of reverberating the weird, the rhythm section of
the band groove in a sea of polished distortion. Presenting a buffet of bends
and whammy hits, the track acts as the drug alluded too in the lyrics. If one
does not pace themselves, they could be found wandering the woods in the late
afternoon, though I would sumise that GodÆs Dream is the perfect piece to do
it to.
The first piece of the work is pure fun, but the album takes an interesting
turn with the title track, ôGodÆs Dream.ö A track which really gives
bassist/vocalist Alex Gehring a moment to shine, her calm delivery will relax
the track as it moves through the landscape designed. Beautifully weaving
melodies in and out of the soundscape provided, I remember experiencing this
track live, and it was a moment that stuck with me for the rest of the night.
Oddly cathartic, ôGodÆs Dreamö is my highlight of the work.
ôChainsaw Morningö is an eruption of sound, carefully climaxed by the band.
With pounding drums in the foreground, whispered vocals consciously carrying
the song forward, and guitars appearing just at the right times, the band
easily shows how their songwriting skills have evolved from all the releases
leading up to GodÆs Dream. More collected, and more intellectually executed,
the band is able to give each piece of their art the right times to be
illuminated.
Bringing a darker aspect to the work on closer ôNowhere,ö as well as a
welcomed sonic adventure with ôShut Your Eyes,ö and in the retrospectively
respective ôTumb Bubble,ö GodÆs Dream ends as wonderfully as it begins.
Acting as the bandÆs best work to date, and an invigorator for future
releases, sit back, relax, and get lost in whatever dream you can imagine God
would have, for Ringo Deathstarr have written the soundtrack for it.
*
Having attained the contemporary American noise-pop throne via cracking
songwriting, fully-realized recordings and years of DIY hustle that has seen
the band touring far from its native Austin, Ringo Deathstarr's latest
long-player finds the trio both firmly in control and delightfully at ease.
The act's resplendent new EP God's Dream stretches out the tempos and
melodies into the luxurious high of an after party, making the short
collection an envelope-pushing victory lap that both sets and confounds
expectations for the band's next long-player.
Opener and highlight "Bong Load" sets the stage from the shoegazing act's
Olympus Mons. Druggy, woozy, even bratty (given guitarist Elliot Frazier's
punky opening vocal turn), the song neatly restates the strengths Ringo
Deathstarr has perfected on its prior full lengths and EPs. There's the vocal
trade-offs of the lead melody between Mr. Frazier and bassist Alex Gehring,
the live-yet-synthetic feel of the shuffling drums, and a potent instrumental
bliss-out closer. In a bit of tasteful indulgence, Frazier introduces a
relatively new tool in his arsenal, the conventional guitar solo, just past
the one-minute mark. There a harmonized, slow-burning lead guitar temporarily
subsumes the track, like the legendary J Mascis at his unbridled best. The
lyrics and sleaze of "Bong Load" also remind the listener of Ringo
Deathstarr's sense of humor, a quality unfortunately absent from a lot of the
music made by the threesome's sonic contemporaries.
"Chainsaw Morning" (which includes guitar contributions from current Smashing
Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder) and "Flower Power" also shine brightly in
the new set. Each song evidences a shift away from (our much loved) 2012
album Mauve and its post-punk whiplash and distorted bass, and toward the
territory of early '90s Britpop and grunge. The former tune leaps from a
metal guitar section (that could have been played by Soundgarden) to a verse
and chorus that carry the big-studio brightness and neo-psych qualities of
late-period The Jesus and Mary Chain or even earlier Spiritualized. As
evidence of Ringo Deathstarr's near-euphoric freedom to collaborate and
experiment, the band even applies a Genesis-styled flanged drum break ahead
of the final chorus. "Flower Power," which features guest guitar work from
Swervedriver's Adam Franklin, continues in the vein of Seattle-styled riffage
and thrash that comes as a surprise when considered in the context the
classical shoegaze purism of the Deathstarr's 2009 full length Colour Trip.
Over the course of God's Dream, the songs investigate slightly different
sonic directions, from sillier, slap-dash punk to the odd, quiet R&B
confessional of "Shut Your Eyes." The takeaway is that the state of the Ringo
Deathstarr union is presently so strong that it can playfully explore, while
retaining its characteristic, effects-laden approach, impressive command of
the studio, and pop songcraft.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
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