-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: SIANspheric4
ALBUM...: Somnium
GENRE...: Indie
STYLE...: Shoegaze, Space Rock
YEAR....: 1995
LABEL...: Sonic Unyon
COUNTRY.: Canada
PLACE...: Hamilton, Ontario
ENCODER.: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V
BITRATE.: 891 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / 2 channels
SOURCE..: CD
TRACKS..: 10
SIZE....: 428.97 MB
URL..: http://www.sianspheric.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sianspheric
http://www.facebook.com/SIANspheric
- TRACKLIST
1 Turbulent - Hydrodynamic 5:18
2 This Window 4:52
3 Watch Me Fall 6:25
4 Broken Man 6:37
5 Flow, Ebb & Die 4:16
6 The Stars Above 4:54
7 Needle 6:27
8 I Like The Ride 5:41
9 Zoe 3:54
10 Where The Planets Revolve, I Wish I 21:19
Was There
Total Playtime: 69:43
Sianspheric (styled as SIANspheric, and previously as SIANspheric4) is a
Canadian space rock and shoegazing band originally from Hamilton, Ontario.
This group were early signees to the Sonic Unyon label.
*
Before moving to the white-noise shoegazing tendencies of There's Always
Someplace You'd Rather Be, Sianspheric seemed fairly dedicated to the more
ambient end of dream poppy -- as its title suggests, Somnium has a slow, hazy
feel that draws from the most sleepy work of bands like Slowdive and Kitchens
of Distinction. This sound is utterly pleasant in and of itself, and will
doubtlessly appeal to adherents of the most blissed-out pop genres, but
Somnium gets most interesting when its constructs its guitars around
off-kilter songwriting -- tracks like "This Window" actually resemble some of
Red House Painters' dreamier work, and it's in spots like this that Somnium
offers something truly inventive.
*
After an initial listen did little to impress, it got tossed on the loser
pile to collect dust for some three months or so. By chance, a second listen
revealed that there was a lot more to it than initially suspected. This
Canadian four-piece of drums, bass+vocal, and two guitarists explores the
ambient reaches of psychedelic rock, comparable on certain levels to
Quarkspace or Porcupine Tree, they employ heavily echoed vocals, echoed
guitars, and lots of effects throughout. Their music generally plods along at
a Floydian pace, dual guitars shimmering and lethargic vocals singing nearly
unintelligible lyrics. Psychedelic? Very. A little sleepy at times too
(perhaps the title is a hint...), especially on the sidelong closer "Where
the Planets Revolve, I Wish I Was There." A promising debut that fans of
neo-psych will certainly enjoy.
*
During the holidays, I took some much-needed me time and moseyed down memory
lane watching the documentary Sonic Unyon: Now We Are 25. Why Sonic Unyon
Records and the music scene they helped foster in Southern Ontario in the
mid-Nineties doesn't get its due has always puzzled me. With all due respect
to Montreal and Toronto's early aughts scenes, Canada has always been home to
cutting edge and innovative music scenes, albeit ones separated by geography
as much as sound and style (Look no further than Mich'l Barclay, Ian A.D.
Jack and Jason Schneider's encyclopedic Have Not Been the Same: The CanRock
Renaissance 1985√1995 for the definitive and ongoing story of how we've
gotten to the point we're at today).
Technology is a major factor, too, I suppose; the label and its seminal
artists had their heyday before the advent of social media and online living.
They made their names the old-fashion way: word-of-mouth, constant touring,
and fostering face-to-face relationships with fans, record store owners, and
fellow musicians. I've been looking longingly back to the Nineties lately,
too. While I fully (and somewhat regrettably) admit that my musical attention
at the time was focused squarely on the whole of the UK music scene of the
day, you couldn't be a music lover in Southern Ontario in the Nineties
without hearing, seeing, and knowing about superstars of Sonic Unyon's roster
like label founders Tristan Psionic, Hayden, and space-rockers SIANspheric.
Of all the Sonic Unyon stable, SIANspheric's shimmery wash of guitars and
psychedelic extended jams fit best with my musical sensibilities at the time.
Their debut full-length, Somnium, is a homegrown take on shoegaze and fits
nicely alongside its contemporaries like the Verve's A Storm In Heaven,
Adorable's Against Perfection, and Spiritualized's Pure Phase. Sonic
similarities aside, Somnium is something altogether different than what was
washing up on North American shores from the UK. A product of their
environment, SIANspheric embraced the DIY punk ethos of the Sonic Unyon
family: first and foremost, they made music for themselves, not to fit into a
scene or style. Elements of their former incarnation Gleet peak through
Somnium's shower of guitars and drone: there's an edge to instrumental "Flow,
Ebb, & Die" that hints at just how hardcore and loud the band could get,
immediately balanced out by the crystalline shimmer of "The Stars Above."
SIANspheric were (and still are, as they continue to perform and record) a
dynamic band, to say the least, a testament to their own tenacious spirit and
musical drive after Gleet lead singer Scott Kish was killed in a car accident
in January 1994. In "I Like the Ride," a song I've always interpreted as a
tribute and ode to their lost friend, vocalist and guitarist Sean Ramsay
sings about "feeling left behind," wanting to laugh but then starting to cry,
and being thankful to be alive. These unabashedly emotional and vulnerable
lyrics suggest the same kind of sensitivity projected by their one-time
labelmate Hayden. Again, label association is where the comparisons end;
dreamy and gossamer settings like the stunning album closer, "Where the
Planets Revolve, I Wish I Was There", is proof that SIANspheric is in an
orbit of their own.
-=- SHGZ -=-
-=-=-==-=-=-
Shoegaze
is a genre of alternative rock that
originated in the late 80s. The genre is very
difficult to define, and it is even more difficult to evaluate music
within it. Generally, the genre is characterized by its
shimmering vocals, reverberating guitars, and
textural distortion that create
a tranquil, opaque
feeling.
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