-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: Black Hearted Brother
ALBUM...: Stars Are Our Home
GENRE...: Indie
STYLE...: Dream Pop, Shoegaze, Electronic, Leftfield, Space Rock
YEAR....: 2013
LABEL...: Sonic Cathedral
COUNTRY.: United Kingdom
PLACE...: London, Greater Londo
ENCODER.: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V
BITRATE.: 822 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / 2 channels
SOURCE..: CD
TRACKS..: 12
SIZE....: 373.64 MB
URL..: http://www.facebook.com/blackheartedbrother
- TRACKLIST
1 Stars Are Our Home 6:38
2 (I Don't Mean To) Wonder 4:29
3 This Is How It Feels 5:59
4 Got Your Love 7:03
5 If I Was Here to Change Your Mind 5:39
6 UFO 4:52
7 Time In The Machine 5:27
8 Oh Crust 4:59
9 Take Heart 5:51
10 My Baby Just Sailed Away 5:34
11 I'm Back 3:35
12 Look Out Here They Come 2:39
Total Playtime: 62:45
Black Hearted Brother came together in 2013, a shoegaze supergroup of sorts
formed by acclaimed singer/songwriter and onetime member of both Slowdive and
Mojave 3, Neil Halstead, Opulent Oog's Nick Holton, and founding member of
Seefeel, Mark Van Hoen. The three had all crossed paths and worked on music
in different capacities for some time, but Black Hearted Brother was the
first time they had collaborated in a group setting, melding a blend of epic
space rock and the lush, atmospheric sounds the various players had become
known for in their other various incarnations. They released their highly
experimental and lengthy debut "Stars Are Our Home" in late 2013 and planned
a series of U.S. tour dates to follow.
*
A brave, beautiful yet experimental album, "Stars Are Our Home" boasts the
craftsmanship of Halstead, Van Hoen, and Holton's impressive resumes: Neil
Halstead, previously an influential member of Slowdive and Mojave 3; Mark Van
Hoen, an original member of Seefeel, subsequently working solo and as Locust;
and Nick Holton, the main mover behind Holton's Opulent Oog, and member of
Coley Park, who have released albums on Halstead's Shady Lane label. They had
also previously worked together on Halstead's 2001 solo album, "Sleeping On
Roads." Van Hoen co-produced Mojave 3's "Out Of Tune," "Excuses For
Travellers" and "Spoon & Rafter," while Holton took up production duties for
Halstead's "Palindrome Hunches." Van Hoen and Halstead go back much further
still, to 1992, when they were in Seefeel and Slowdive respectively.
"Stars Are Our Home" mirrors the similar experimental nature of Halstead's
previous work - he describes the album as, "a lot of very long and indulgent
space rawk." The space-rock elements of the album are obvious in the album's
opening title track, but Halstead says there's more to it: "The idea was to
just make a record that was in some ways 'unedited.' To not worry about a
particular sound or style, but to just go with the flow. We all make quite
focused records individually so, as Mark says, it's our 'guilty pleasures'
album."
A record that beautifully merges "order" and "chaos", "Stars Are Our Home" is
full of unexpected twists and turns that drench the listener in noise and
then flip back to acoustic melody, and offers surprises with lyrics that
sometimes reference romance and other times UFO abduction. Although
unexpected and surprising, the experimental nature of the album never forgets
the importance of pop with tracks like, "Take Heart," "I'm Back," and the
closing track, "Look Back Here They Come."
-=- 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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