-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Ambient * Ethereal *
Artist..: Ringo Deathstarr
Album...: Pure Mood
GENRE....: Indie
STYLE....: Shoegaze
LABEL....: Club AC30 SCENE.....: 2015-11-27
BITRATE..: 1004kbps avg STORE.....: 2015-00-00
ENCODER..: FLAC 1.2.1 -8 -V TRACKS....: 12
SIZE.....: 303.4MB SOURCE....: CD
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Deathstarr
- TRACKLIST
1 Dream Again 1:59
2 Heavy Metal Suicide 3:40
3 Stare At The Sun 4:19
4 Show Me The Truth Of Your Love 3:54
5 Big Bopper 2:41
6 Guilt 3:00
7 California Car Collection 3:31
8 Frisbee 3:26
9 Boys In Heat 5:00
10 Never 3:14
11 Old Again 3:23
12 Acid Tongue 3:51
Total Playtime: 41:58
Ringo Deathstarr's 2015 effort Pure Mood is another excellent example of how
to make a modern-age shoegaze album. Pile layers of fuzzy, grungy guitar
noise on top of sugary tunes sung in breathless tones, add the occasional
twist, and stir. It's a formula bands have been using since Kevin Shields
bought his first Jazzmaster, but as on previous albums, RDS show the kind of
melodic skill and sonic ability here that allow them to leap ahead of the
pack of shoegaze imitators and wannabes. Along with the raft of songs are
perfect male/female vocal harmonies and swooning hooks -- the kind of stuff
they've been doling out for years. The album takes a couple of stylistic left
turns that are bracing and welcome. "Heavy Metal Suicide" pretty much lives
up to its title, swaggering darkly with the guitars giving some serious metal
attitude in the verses. The choruses switch back to gauzier realms, but the
punch of the guitars helps give the album a boost right out of the gate --
especially coming as it does after one of the album's dreamier interludes,
the aptly titled "Dream Again." That song's wispy atmosphere is very 4AD and,
along with the also very cloud-like and drifty "California Car Collection,"
shows another side of the band's sound. So does the super poppy "Old Again."
Diversions aside, the real power of the album is in songs like "Frisbee" and
"Never" that pummel the listener with guitar noise and giant melodies. There
are plenty of bands doing roughly the same thing as Ringo Deathstarr, but
there are few who do it as well as they do. Pure Mood is proof of that.
The one lingering doubt which troubles me slightly with Pure Mood takes us
back to where we originally started û will fans of ethereal shoegaze music
find it too loud, too grungy? Will grunge fans find it not heavy enough as a
whole? IÆve come to the conclusion that on balance it works pretty well,
even if you do have to adjust the volume control here and there along the
way. ItÆs not perfect û there are moments, such as during "Old Again", where
my concentration has wavered - but when it hits the spot ("Big Bopper",
"Guilt", "Acid Tongue"), itÆs an absolute tour-de-force.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
--===--
*********************
* NuHS we miss you! *
*********************