-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: Neiv
ALBUM...: Canyon Dreams
GENRE...: Indie
STYLE...: Shoegaze, Dreampop, Post-Punk
YEAR....: 2018
LABEL...: Somewherecold
COUNTRY.: Switzerland
PLACE...: Alp Grⁿm
ENCODER.: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V
BITRATE.: 817 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / 2 channels
SOURCE..: CDR
TRACKS..: 9
SIZE....: 207.09 MB
URL..: http://www.facebook.com/neivofficial
- TRACKLIST
1 Indian Springs 4:00
2 It's The Cold Side 3:26
3 Take Me To The Sun 4:21
4 Rest Stop 3:43
5 Tic Tac Toe 3:48
6 Nothing Is Real 4:57
7 Canyon Dream 3:51
8 Pink Stars 3:39
9 Indian Summer 3:38
Total Playtime: 35:23
NOTICE: Typo on back cover for track 2 - 'It's A Coldside'
Correct is "It's The Cold Side" (see titles_cd-text.jpg) +
http://neiv.bandcamp.com
http://neivswc.bandcamp.com
Neiv are a three-piece dreampop band from The Alps. Jennie (Vox, Synths), PJ
(Guitars, Vox), and Marko (Bass, Vox) create reverb drenched, often open
songs that are both thought-provoking and catchy. Their third full-length,
Canyon Dreams is a dream filled wonder, with gorgeous vocals, tight pop
structures, and fantastic production. Moving from the foggy nature of Cocteau
Twins to the brightness of Slowdive and Pia Fraus, Neiv have certainly come
into their third full-length with nine songs that are exquisitely executed.
"Indian Springs" kicks of Canyon Dreams and the warm guitars, subtle
percussion work, and dreamy vocals invite the listener into the sonic world
of Neiv. It's hypnotic, swirling, and evokes everything wonderful about warm
spring afternoons. This entrance to Canyon Dream is perfection and really
sets the mood for the entire album. "It's the Cold Side", while this site
does have an affinity for the title, is another amazingly addictive track.
The guitar melody is especially striking here as it repeats to create this
head-bobbing earworm. "Take Me to the Sun" is a careful, out of this world
affair. It transports the listener to the best times in their lives with an
ease few artists can execute. What also becomes clear is that this album is
largely a collection of singles with a few exceptions, with almost every
track strong and worth standing on their own.
"Rest Stop" has a warm blanket of swirling reverb with gorgeous bright blips
and bloops populating the airwaves. The vocals are a gorgeous harmony of
female and male blending and they channel a sort of Pia Fraus sound here.
"Tic Tac Toe" has warbling guitars that swirl about drums and bass. Evoking a
playfully light smoky nightclub, the vocals are distance but soaring while
the guitars eventually strum in time with the brilliant percussion and bass
work. "Nothing is Real" begins with a sort of sci-fi synth feel, creating a
dream state that is joined by guitar and other synth voices. There is a
goth/post-punk underlying feel here that bursts into a very ethereal vocal.
"Canyon Dream" is just incredible. A combination of the best dreampop with a
vocal melody that evokes a melancholier Pia Fraus, it shines as an incredible
anchor to this album. If this perfection isn't enough, the band continues
with "Pink Stars" that has such an incredible bass-line coupled with
beautifully pensive percussion that it, too, stands out on the album. The
vocals float over walls of glistening guitar layers that just float along,
creating a majestic piece near the end of this sonic journey. "Indian Summer"
is the finale to Canyon Dream and is a dreamlike piece that has a
story-tellers feel to it. The vocals are almost spoken and the guitars strum
in time over a floating drone. A sax even makes an appearance, giving the
track a sort of other-worldly feel. It's a fanciful end to what is, in my
estimation, the best album of the first quarter of 2018.
Canyon Dreams is certainly the thing of summer soundtracks filling the
listener with grand and deep abiding memories of warm suns and refreshing
beaches. An album full of singles, Canyon Dreams moves from one fabulously
constructed moment to another evoking dream states and summer fun. Neiv have
crafted a dreampop wonder. Everyone should get a copy, play it loud in the
car with the windows down, and take a long drive along the coast. You won't
be disappointed.
*
Neiv were inspired by the dramatic Nevada scenery, explaining that "we have
dreamt of it and imagined it immediately as it wasà cruising the Nevada
desert during August 2016, between giant canyons, unspoiled nature and lunar
landscapes. We wrote it and recorded it throughout 2017 among our own studio
in the Alps, the Analog Earth studio in Champaign (IL) and Humdrum studio in
Milwaukee (WI). 'Canyon Dreams' is a dream, a pleasant, lysergic and
introspective journey. We wanted to create the right soundtrack for this
journey, as if this would never end, as if we were trapped in there, in a
sort of hysterical loop but sweet at the same time, in a mix of soft dunes
and sharp rocks. We are really addicted to all the tracksà It all starts from
'Indian Springs', at the gates of Death Valley, which with all its mysticism
leads us into a cold and lost desertà"
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
*** Props to CaHeSo, awesome Asian Indie/Shoegaze ***
*** And to FANG/HOUND for supporting all the Indie lovers out there ***
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* NuHS we miss you! *
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