A year ago we posted a few lesser known shoegaze artists. It’s time for more. Salon Music – Who Just Can’t Be Happy? (1995) Salon Music is a Japanese new wave/shoegaze/rock duo consisting of Hitomi Takenaka (竹中仁見) and Zin Yoshida (吉田仁). They have released twelve studio albums, between the years 1983 and 2011. Two songs in particular stand out as … read more ➜
Numero Group have announced the pre-order for a new compilation for Majesty Crush. Driven by lust-fueled limerence and drifting far from conformity, Butterflies Don’t Go Away captures Majesty Crush’s transient, yet subversive mark on the landscape of American shoegaze to come. Tracked between 1991-1995, the quartet reimagined the collapse of the American rust belt as a late-night, … read more ➜
Available again on vinyl for the first time since its 1998 release, it’s Swervedriver’s 4th album, 99th Dream! Soon after its initial release, the band broke up and this classic LP was lost to the ages. Now reissued as a proper double LP, with a bonus 4th side of remixes from Alan Moulder (My Bloody … read more ➜
Pet Fox is a 3-piece, Boston based, indie rock band. Its members are Theo Hartlett (vocals, guitar), Morgan Luzzi (bass), and Jesse Weiss (drums). Recommended if you like: Ovlov, Seam, Weezer, Slint https://petfox.bandcamp.com/
Episode 65 of Melting Pot, first broadcast on Get Radio (www.getradio.co.uk) on September 21st 2023, features an interview with Swervedriver’s Adam Franklin. They premiere 3 songs that will be released in January 2024. Adam talks about the soon to be released 99th Dream reissue and the upcoming new Bolts of Melody album. Planned release date … read more ➜
Curve were an English alternative rock and electronic music duo from London, formed in 1990 and split in 2005. Doppelgänger is their debut studio album from 1992 and is a continuation of the musical idiom established by the group on it’s three earlier EPs. Doppelgänger combines elements of dance music and alternative rock with the … read more ➜
Boston’s Drop Nineteens, originally active from 1991 to 1995, have announced a new album, Hard Light. The release date is November 3, 2023. They were one of the few U.S. based bands who styled themselves on the UK’s distinctive shoegaze sound, taking their inspiration from bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Bleach. Drop … read more ➜
New track from the soon to be released EP An Object In Motion, called The Skin and the Glove. Musically it’s reminiscent of Lush, perhaps with some M83 drums sprinkled in.
Proper Records has pre-orders up for Catherine Wheel’s first 3 albums, Ferment, Chrome and Happy Days. The have a listed release date of August 18, 2023. I’m curious if Chrome will have the original cover or will follow the 2017 reissue and use the image from the 1993 CDs, which was different from the original … read more ➜
Lush, the British alternative rock band formed in London in 1987, is often hailed as one of the pioneers of shoegaze and dream pop. Comprising Miki Berenyi, Emma Anderson, Phil King, and Chris Acland, Lush created ethereal and atmospheric music that resonated with a generation of listeners. Through their mesmerizing melodies, lush harmonies, and evocative … read more ➜
A defining album of the 90s, Last Splash by The Breeders turns 30 this year. To celebrate, the band have returned to the original tapes to give it its first-ever remaster, and by doing so have also unearthed two lost tracks that will delight fans. Recorded by the ‘classic’ Breeders line-up of Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine … read more ➜
The fifth album from shoegaze giants Slowdive will be released on September 1, 2023. The title is Everything Is Alive. It began with Neil Halstead in the role of producer and writer, working on demos at home. He experimented with modular synths and originally conceived of the new album as a, “more minimal electronic record.” … read more ➜
Tame Impala have announced a 10-year anniversary box set for their second album, Lonerism. (pre-order here) The box set, due May 26th, will include 3 vinyl records and a 24-page booklet. Two bonus tracks, Retina Show and Sidetracked Soundtrack, which were left off of the album are available to stream now. Also available are “assorted … read more ➜
Big Bliss is the Brooklyn-based brainchild of brothers Cory and Tim Race, and friend/collaborator Wallace May. Formed in late 2015, the trio melds harmonic post-punk grooves with art-rock sensibilities all propped up on the pillars and hooks of pop structure. Their sound is at once melancholic, tense, noisy, and ultimately uplifting, laced with lyricism that … read more ➜
British Alternative band Blur announced their ninth studio album, The Ballad Of Darren, and it’s scheduled for release on July 21, 2023. It was produced by James Ford (Foals, Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode) and recorded at Studio 13 in London and Devon. Damon Albarn wrote demos for the new album, mostly while touring with Gorillaz. Albarn states, … read more ➜
Rhino Records is launching a new series of the exclusive premium vinyl series, Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi). They claim, “These high-end, limited-edition vinyl reissues of classic albums represent the pinnacle of sound and packaging.” The first two Rhino High Fidelity albums are available today exclusively at Rhino.com – The Cars (1978) by The Cars and Coltrane’s Sound (1964) … read more ➜
“AISIS is an alternate reality concept album where the band’s 95-97 line-up continued to write music, or perhaps all got together years later to write a record akin to the first 3 albums, and only now has the master DAT tape from that session surfaced. We’re bored of waiting for Oasis to reform, so we’ve … read more ➜
UK alternative rock band Catherine Wheel has released a remastered version of their 1991 debut EP, She’s My Friend, called The Norfolk Remasters – She’s My Friend. It contains the original recording of She’s My Friend and Salt, which were rerecorded for Ferment, and 2 previously digitally unreleased songs, Upside Down and Wish. Upside Down … read more ➜
Pasteboard was a Japanese Shoegaze band based in Saitama. It was formed by Makoto Igarashi and Mihoko Tanoue. They only released one album before switching to another project, Roly Poly Rag Bear. 7th Heaven is releasing their only album, Glitter, on vinyl. It goes on sale tomorrow, April 14th. It’ll be available in black and … read more ➜
When it comes to technology, usually people want the latest and greatest. So why are vinyl records making a comeback? For some people, it never went away. Larry Potash goes deep into the modern revival of wax tracks in this piece for Backstory.