New Releases: Highspire

For some reason I keep indulging in contemporary shoegaze records. And while I like a lot of them, they often blend together--take some halfway decent songs and slather them in reverb and distortion and voila, there you go. So they end up sitting largely un-revisited in my digital library, the stray song periodically popping up when I cue up the "shoegaze" genre and hit shuffle play.

Which makes it nice when you snag one that stands out. The latest from Pennsylvania band Highspire, at least on the first couple spins, seems more compelling. Crushed is gonna draw the usual references to My Bloody Valentine and Medicine and early Ride, but in a good way. While there is still plenty of blistering din (like on the opening title track), many of the tracks offer melodic, psychedelia tunes behind the sonic layers, and there are some pretty cool sounds barreling out of my speakers that go beyond the obvious distortion. "Gloria" reminds me most of Ride, or early Lush; after the initial feedback wails, there are some striking intermingled boy-girl vox that draw you in; "You Don't Think You Matter" pares back the bluster and leaves a gentle, jangly dream pop gem glancing back to the Stone Roses or the High; while elsewhere, like on the mid-tempo "Blackened Skies," the sonics seem to bend and swoon like classic MbV. 

Lots to like here. Check it out on Bandcamp.

"Blackened Skies":

"Gloria":

"You Don't Think You Matter":