-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Ambient * Ethereal *
Artist..: Ringo Deathstarr
Album...: Colour Trip
GENRE....: Indie
STYLE....: Shoegaze
LABEL....: Club AC30 SCENE.....: 2015-11-27
BITRATE..: 1047kbps avg STORE.....: 2011-00-00
ENCODER..: FLAC 1.2.1 -8 -V TRACKS....: 11
SIZE.....: 245.3MB SOURCE....: CD
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Deathstarr
- TRACKLIST
1 Imagine Hearts 2:38
2 Do It Every Time 2:38
3 So High 2:01
4 Two Girls 2:58
5 Kaleidoscope 2:05
6 Day Dreamy 3:18
7 Tambourine Girl 3:38
8 Chloe 3:16
9 Never Drive 4:12
10 You Don't Listen 2:29
11 Other Things 3:27
Total Playtime: 32:40
ItÆs a good thing no one ever told the three Texans behind Ringo Deathstarr
that shoegazeÆs day in the sun has passed. Elliott Frazier, Daniel Coburn,
and Alex Gehring revel in the fuzzy, reverbed noise of My Bloody Valentine,
Ride, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Just as with the classic records produced
by those legends of the mid Æ80s-early Æ90s, there are some conventional
melodies and songs buried deep down in the piles of effect-laden guitars. The
vocals are typically muddied and the drums thunderous. Deathstarr seem to be
taking the same cues that The Pains of Being Pure of Heart are, adding their
favorite elements of current dream pop to the whorls of traditional shoegaze.
Those little additions, though, remain minimal at best, instead relying on
the tropes of shoegaze come and gone.
ôImagine Heartsö opens the disc with some brief, off-kilter, cacophonous
noise, before a ready-to-gaze song pushes itself forward. The songÆs lurching
drums, howling guitars, and loping bass thrum along for a couple of minutes,
Gehring lithely murmuring over the mix. The vaguely serene tone of the
understandable lyrics and the slinky, ear-shifting bass line betray the
aching, uncontrollable guitars, leaving the song a compellingly mixed punch.
ôDo It Every Timeö follows with a rare sort of energy, Frazier taking over
vocal duties. The shift from female vocals to male takes a shift in lyrical
quality as well, ôWeÆre falling apart again, she took my cardiganö sounding
vaguely menacing (or perhaps menaced), rather than merely faraway.
Gehring returns to the fore on ôSo Highö, the dreaminess turned back up. This
duality keeps things fresh throughout. Rather than relying on the dreamy
quality of GehringÆs voice (which occasionally clashesû both pleasantly and
notû with the aggressive, rumbling guitars) or primarily running with Frazier
(whose dispassionate, droll vocals can lack intrigue), Deathstarr deftly
switches between the two at the perfect moment.
The shimmery Cocteau Twins take on ôTwo Girlsö floats by like a mechanically
winged butterfly, all beautiful sharp edges and lush, breezy vocals. The song
is the primary aspect of the recording, but the aggressive effects and
thriving noise stop this from being another pop record. That said, the noise
occasionally sounds a little too reined in; the chaos remains controlled
rather than wild. A little more ferocity would have done this record well,
particularly on songs like ôKaleidoscopeö that lack the kick of their more
energetic neighbors.
ôDay Dreamyö is another example of a song gone too tame; a meandering,
aimless song that nonetheless remains pretty throughout. FrazierÆs chiming
guitar and CoburnÆs elegiac rhythms keep things from falling entirely stale,
but at best itÆs a sugary recording. The charming, trancy ôTambourine Girlö,
on the other hand, ratchets itself into existence, Frazier blithely, almost
smirkingly letting lines slip as GehringÆs shuddering bass pulsates and
writhes. The hectic, insistent ôChloeö keeps things largely in My Bloody
Valentine territory, FrazierÆs sharp guitar solos and stuttered vocals
dominating attention, despite CoburnÆs rickety drum-work.
ôNever Driveö hums and crackles with electricity, sauntering by confidently.
Alternately, the simple ruckus of ôYou DonÆt Listenö clomps and plods.
Despite a seemingly simple sonic palette, no two songs sound identical,
differentiating themselves in tone and atmosphere quite easily, rather than
structure or instrumentation. While the Gehring-sung tracks stand out more
easily, FrazierÆs straightforward, genre-friendly vocals can do just as well.
Together, though, they make for a consistent record.
It can be said that this is the best recently released shoegaze record, or
perhaps that it best recapitulates the classic sounds of a genre largely
past. Some might complain that this sort of nostalgia isnÆt doing much for
modern music, which is true to a degree. But when any band can so perfectly
encompass the mass of a niche genre, especially one so beloved and missed,
those complaints shouldnÆt be too loud. Plus, with a name like that, they
should be able to get away with almost anything.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
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