Lumnos - Na santa paz da aurora (2025)

The illuminated cover art says it all: this album is all about electronic blackgaze filled with the light as much as with the darkness. Lomnos comes from Brazil and I have to say, there is something in the Latin America that invites the solo acts that bring a lot of energy to the blackgaze community.

And while I haven't heard of the artist before, it is not a new name on the scene as this album is meant to be released to celebrate the 10 years of the project. Interestingly enough, the artist calls their music "Ambient Black Metal" which, I guess, is a good way of describing blackgaze. At least the amount of electronica makes sense (albeit far from ambient's peacefulness). Quite the opposite, there is so much going on in this music, not only the occasional black metal vocals and energetic drums. If this is an ad for the artist's last 10 years of music, I'm sold.

Na santa paz da aurora costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Janaína

Country: Brazil

Genre: electronic blackgaze

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Bezsenna - We mgle (2025)

Ah, yes, a good and fresh Polish post-punk, haven't seen that for a while. Although Bezsenna are called like a dream pop band (meaning "sleepless" for a female person), they are in fact energetic and rebellious (at least against the horrors of human existence) artists who are here to make use of some impressive guitar riffs.

While the structures of the songs and the vocals are very much (post-)punk in vibes, the real gold can be found underneath them. Don't get me wrong, I like the lyrics, they seem more focused on the ridiculous elusiveness of human's life and interpersonal relationships, which I find more universal and generally more interesting than punk's usual anti-system attire. But what I like the most is the modern approach to music that plays in the backgrounds. It is so catchy and modern-sounding that it may almost be indie rock-like. In the positive sense of course. I like this mix of punk's alternativeness and indie's approachable nature, makes the music potentially closer to bigger audience. I will be looking at the band's career with big interest.

We mgle costs 30 PLN (7.5 EUR).

Check: Palcem na wodzie

Country: Poland

Genre: modern post-punk

Label: Koty Records

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SOM - Let the Light In (2025)

SOM might be the band that made me interested in doomgaze as a genre. Their 2022's album The Shape of Everything really stuck with me and made me excited for the follow up. This came just two weeks ago in the shape (ha!) of the equally green and equally good album called Let the Light In.

High pace, complex music backgrounds and Jonas Bjerre-esque vocals is what characterizes the Americans. In their music, the "doom" part certainly doesn't refer to the speed in which the tracks go by and by. It's fast, there's a seducing flow, the compositions are catchy. The "doom" part is the heaviness of the music that contrasts so beautifully with the fragile, soft vocals that really make me think of Mew's airy madness. But what strikes me most is the ingenuity that is so well perceptible in the backgrounds. Everything that takes place under the vocals in Let the Light In, Chemicals or Give Blood is shockingly awesome.

The first part of the album feels certainly stronger. Maybe it's because this kind of intense music may tire the listener a bit with time. But still, it's one of the best bands of its kind out there and I can't wait for an opportunity to see them live somewhere out there.

Let the Light In costs 7.99 EUR.

Check: Chemicals 

Country: US

Genre: energetic doomgaze

Label: Pelagic Records

SOM - The Shape of Everything (2022)

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Empress Ephemeral - Everything Will Probably Be Fine (2025)

My favourite kind of post-rock is probably anything that includes neoclassical instruments in order to make the whole thing either more airy or energetic. But when the neoclassical starts playing the main role, my excitement goes beyond the metaphorical speedometer. And I've already learned that the American s from Empress Ephemeral make me feel that way.

The only ephemeral thing about this music is the band's name. Otherwise, it is crunchy, it is textured, it is tangible. It is a stone thrown at your face, nothing from the string instruments' atmosphere creating qualities. In here, the strings are in the foreground, but they fuel the music's energy and tempo. They are closer to folk strings than neoclassicism. Especially that they are accompanied by heavy and meaty guitars, making the band's works lying exactly on the border of post-rock and post-metal when it comes to heaviness.

No wonder that the artists admit to being inspired by "the raw beauty of their coastal surroundings". It does't sound like an ocean, it FEELS like it. Even the (beautiful, as always with these guys) cover art shows a violent burst of nature origins. This is this music. The only thing I'm not sure about is the album's title. Maybe it's ironical, because this kind of music doesn't make me calmer or less worried about the future. But maybe it's the "probably"'s role.

Everything Will Probably Be Fine costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: One Last Great Dream

Country: New Jersey, US

Genre: violins-led post-metal

Label: Movement & Repose

Empress Ephemeral - Empress Ephemeral (2022)

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Messier 13 - Stay for a While (2025)

There is more than one Athens-based band in love with Slowdive's music? Yes sir! Three years after the world received the debut album from Sugar for the Pill, Messier 13 releases their own and, even if not called after the shoegaze legends' song, their vibes may be even closer to the beloved band.

Especially when you think about the band's first phases with slightly lo-fi sound and psychedelic guitars in the background, accompanying the soft and emotional vocals. But it cannot be said that the the Greeks, whose name is taken from a cluster of thousands of stars, are a cover band. The vibes are similar, but there's more to this music. There is, for example, some experimentations with heavier, louder notes in Apartment that is clearly inspired by more modern nugaze outfits.

The artists admit that their music is meant to touch the "themes of everyday life's fragility, routine, unrequited love and mourning", a perfect fit for the emotional shoegaze. It is melancholic and poignant while also being hypnotic and self-reflection-fueling. And makes me curious about the Greek shoegaze scene even more now.

Stay for a While costs 7 EUR.

Check: Apartment 

Country: Greece

Genre: melancholic shoegaze

Label: Inner Ear Records

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SPC ECO - Hello (2025)

There are a few bands who refuse to publish their work on Spotify or do so in a limited way. And while I respect this decision and back all the efforts for achieving justice in the music industry, my playlist-focused way of listening to music is hurt. One of the bands are the Bandcamp's giants from UK who released their... I can't even count that high. They released ANOTHER great album.

Their signature electronica-heavy trip-hop music with a strong ethereal atmosphere on top is back. The Rose Berlin - Dean Garcia duo (helped, as always, by Jarek Leśkiewicz from Poland) doesn't stray away from what they do best: mixing the melodies with dense electronica and so creating melancholic and psychedelic musical paintings. Those can be extremely catchy and hit-worthy (like the title track Hello) or serving as mood-producing little machines. It's no surprise that the album is dedicated to the late David Lynch. It's the mood that matters.

Hello costs 11 EUR (9 GBP).

Check: Hello

Country: UK

Genre: dreamy trip-hop

SPC ECO - Calm (2017)

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Pothamus - Abur (2025)

The sophomore album that is even better than the debut? It's how it is with the Belgian doomgazers/ sludge metal heads of Pothamus who released their new album via Pelagic making it the most interesting post-metal release of the beginning of the year. The psychedelic meeting the heaviness? Count me in!

This repetitious, tribal-like pace is certainly what strikes the most while listening to Abur. The flow of the tracks is unbelievable, you can start listening to the first track and suddenly realize that it's been almost an hour and you sit mesmerized by the guitar psychedelia. And this doesn't mean that the album is monotonous, quite the opposite, there is space for dance-inducing, high voltage parts and for meditative, musical mantras at the same album.

An important part of the band's philosophy is the way it looks to the Eastern cultures, which can be spotted even by complete laymen in the title of the first track (and I assume the following ones as well). The spiritual component of the Belgians' music is so important for them that the band describes themselves using the phrase "mixing music and metaphysics" as the starting point. In other place, they say about this album that "[the songs] are vessels of meaning and ideas, meant to be carried, reshaped, sung back into the air". For me, the mesmerizing, tribal-like rhythm certainly invites some self-reflecting states.

Abur costs 7.99 EUR.

Check: Zhikarta

Country: Belgium

Genre: spiritual doomgaze

Label: Pelagic Records

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Tremours - Fragments (2025)

SS

Back in 2022 I posted about a single from a new dreamy band from California (yes, another one) and now I'm happy to say that the band developed into a full-fledged ethereal power, one ready to show their debut album to the world. And you have to know that the Lauren Andino and Glenn Fryatt duo's music is out of the top league.

Andino's vocals are the base of the project's warm and airy vibes. The rather slow and very much cosy melodies fit flow from the very first track like a stream of consciousness. This also reflects what the vocalist says about their work: "Most of our songs center around loneliness. Not necessarily sadness, but the comfort that you can find in being lonely". Being alone in the cosy way. The vocals are supported by the music in which the bass lines are what stands out the most, making me use the ethereal wave tag to describe the band. I like those moments when the music grows out of the background and shines the most as in tad noisier Dark Glasses but my favourite song as to be the melodic, West Coast nostalgia in Devil Town.

The duo is becoming a big deal which you can sense from the fact that the album attracted artists such as Peter Holmström (The Dandy Warhols) and Mark van Hoen (The Locust) as well as Simon Scott of Slowdive who mastered the whole endeavour. 

Fragments costs 9.99 USD.

Check: Devil Town

Country: California, US

Genre: ethereal wave

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Wilson Trouvé - One Life (2025)

The Belgium-based artist, Wilson Trouvé, released an album filled with beautiful soundscapes of intimate and dramatic music, that has all the features of a movie score, the positive and negative ones.

he artist created the album as a "hypothetical film score or documentary on human life and existence" and the structure made of short tracks is meant to reflect the structure of human lives that are, in reality, made of short moments. Those moments are constructed with the help of a range of live instruments, making the whole album feel very close to the audience and especially immersive. I love the music and while I appreciate the idea behind it, I'm not a fan of movie scores, precisely because of what is captured here: the tracks are, basically, too short. I'd love to hear the director's cut of this album!

One Life costs 8.5 EUR (7 GBP).

Check: Day 1

Country: Belgium

Genre: neoclassical soundscape

Label: Bigo and Twigetti

Wilson Trouvé & Wil Bolton - Escape (2021)

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Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - I Went to the Mountain (2025)

The Romanian post-rockers are one of my favorite bands making the melodic, guitar-heavy kind of the genre (can you tell by the number of times they already appeared on this blog?). And now as the blog is back and the band is back with a new album, we both meet so I can enjoy the well-crafted essence of the post-rock fun.

The band's fifth album shows their evolution towards more progressive sounds with the strong "inclination towards a barefaced, riff-led take on the music [the band] love". The artists also point at some post-metal and stoner elements in their compositions, but I'd say they are not that noticeable to me. I still feel like the focus on the melodies and the love for what the guitars can do is predominant in their music (even if it's slightly heavier). Good, that's what I like about them. 

There is one change I noticed and I don't like. The titles of the tracks (and the album as well, translating part of their head-scratching band name) are now in English. I'm not sure about that. I like the mystery the Romanian ones delivered each time I listened to their albums, but I guess the artists wanted to be more approachable for the "normal" listeners. Nevertheless, a solid album filled with well-balanced tracks.

I Went to the Mountain costs 10 USD.

Check: We Hold Each Other at Current 

Country: Romania

Genre: guitar post-rock

Label: dunk!records

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Vale (2022)

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - La Deal (2019)

Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut - S​-​a Rezolvat. Nu Se Poate.(2017)

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Solkyri - Cranebrook (2025)

The Australian post-rock icons decided to change what we know them of and instead of the melodic guitar-based music, on their new album they put the weight on the minimal but meaningful atmosphere, making Cranebrook sounding more like an instrumental ambient release.

Let's quote the band themselves: "we made something different. It’s slow, at times it’s really slow, but it allows a moment of reflection, a chance to stand still and importantly, rest". And so the tracks are quiet, acoustic, making me think of a slow Sunday somewhere in the country side drowning in sunlight. The acoustic guitar, piano keys and violins make the sound carefree and filled with light which interestingly contrasts the cover art which looks like the band wanted to show how they destroyed the concept of the previous album, Mount Pleasant. Instead of the violent destruction, however, the change seems to be smoother. I'd think of it as a house slowly devoured by the lush green than crumbled from some disastrous blows.

Anyway, the change is clear. "This is a brave leap, but it is one that we are proud to take" add the band members and I'm curious to see if that's the direction they will go in the future as well. I'd be very happy if the answer is yes.

Cranebrook costs 6 EUR (10 AUD).

Check: I Guess I'll Be Leaving Now

Country: Australia

Genre: instrumental ambient

Solkyri - Mount Pleasant (2020)

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The Heart of the Sun - Blue Album (2025)

Filiph Antonsson comes from Sweden and creates an involving psychedelic pop that includes some great traits of the genre: catchy melodies, mesmerizing atmosphere and interesting lyrics. After years of singles, he finally released a longer album and it's absolutely worth checking out.

Sure, the multi-layered, dense music is great, the atmosphere captures you and doesn't let you out before the album ends, the vocals are dreamy and pleasant. But what I like the most about Antonsson's debut are the story-driven and very lyrical texts. Especially in Probably Not that gives me strong Grandaddy vibes which is a great compliment in my books. I feel like the two artists have a similar approach to music: the lyrical layer is the most important, but it has to be not too abstract and must be accompanied by at least equally intriguing music. It works so well in this single track.

But the further the album goes, the more psychedelic it gets. The space-like So Many Secrets to Reveal certainly doesn't sound like it will reveal any of said secrets. The psychedelia element is what drove me to the album, but the lyrical sensibility is what made me stay.

Blue Album costs 4.5 EUR (50 SEK).

Check: Probably Not

Country: Sweden

Genre: dreamy psychedelic pop

Label: Declared Goods

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Julien Demoulin - A Trial of Distances (2025)

There is something special in airy soundscapes that are enriched with sounds of live instruments, especially when the instruments are not that obvious. This is exactly the case with the new album from the French artist Julien Demoulin, who created a dream with a twist.

As the label states, the release provides us with "emotional themes, deep chords of eerie synths and melancholic drones" with inclusion of "lovely brass sounds of trumpet, trombone and flugelhorn, provided by Kelly O'Donohue". The trumpets are really not something I envision in the reverb-filled, ethereal form, quite frankly I seldom envision them in any form. But those soundscapes work so well, I can't deny it. So, without any denying at all, let's sink into the beautifully dense ambient sounds.

Just to mention everything, the album includes also three remixes by some well-known names in the soundscaping world, including our very own How To Disappear Completely from Poland.

A Trial of Distances costs 7 EUR.

Check: A Trial Of Distances Pt.3

Country: France

Genre: brass instruments soundscapes

Label: sound in silence

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Lara - Disambiguate (2025)

"Noisy bois from the south of the metro (Manila)" maintain my image of the South-East Asia's underground music: the lo-fi but honest noisy shoegazers rocking the scenes. Their new (and possibly debut) album comes with all of the subgenre's features and has to sound especially great live.

There's little doubt on who inspired the debutants from the Philippines: the sound of early shoegaze releases from UK is audible in every second of the album. The lo-fi vibes make the resemblance even more striking. The melodies are hidden under the guitar noise, but there are moments where they can shine as well (great Countenance) and generally, I prefer the faster, noisier parts of the album as the ballads, although they diversify the track list, feel unremarkable in my ears.

I do appreciate, however, that the band is not afraid of leaving the vocals behind in some longer parts, relying on the instruments creating a noisy but equally cozy atmosphere (so great in Sonoluminescence!). All in all, a very promising debut with a lot of different approaches to noisy music that, still, together sound very well and coherent.

Disambiguate costs 7 USD.

Check: Countenance

Country: The Philippines

Genre: garage shoegaze

Label: Calm Lake Records

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Type Foundry - Type Foundry (2025)

Luke Buneo, a solo artist from Phoenix, Arizona released his first ever EP and I have to say: I've heard worse debuts. The airy vocals (and backing vocals!) with quite rough-sounding guitars in the backgrounds create a wonderful atmosphere from the borders of one's dreams.

Those rocky music is what I hear the most on the album. The guitar backgrounds sometimes sound like slightly tamed MBV's madness (Dawgs) and sometimes like "just" a grunge/rock/indie riffs that are catchy and filled with raw energy. This makes an interesting comparison with the very dreamy vocals and slower compositions that make me think of Ruby Haunt (Working the Jaguar). In general, this short album is very well thought through and well-rounded, especially for a solo musician's debut release. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the artist cause there's never enough of interesting solo shoegaze projects.

Type Foundry costs 7 USD.

Check: Dawgs

Country: Arizona, US

Genre: solo shoegaze

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Daydream Twins - Solstice for Embodiment (2025)

Ok, ok, hear me out: Daydream Twins' debut was one of the best shoegazey albums of 2022, their EP Bombinate was one of the best ones in 2023 and... now it's time for their sophomore LP called Solstice for Embodiment and, in my books, it's on the best way to become one of the best of the incoming year when it comes to airy but also very melodic shoegaze/dream pop vibes.

The unbelievable talent for writing catchy songs is what attracts me to the Texas duo in the first place. You can say that if it wasn't for the dreamy arrangements and off-stream vibes, the songs would be featured on your mainstream radio stations and national charts. But it's a great thing they are not: the pop hit-like melodies here are enchanted within the airy guitar and ethereal vocals-fueled compositions, meaning it's what we like the most. This ratio of the catchy and the dreamy seems to me perfectly balanced and perhaps it means that it can attract fans of very wide range of genres.

But if you ask me, the more airy, the better. That's why ballads like Aeromancy and Thousand Steps take the cake on the album. 

Solstice for Embodiment costs 7 USD.

Check: Aeromancy 

Country: Texas, US

Genre: ethereal pop

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Hollie Kenniff - For Forever (2024)

Hollie Kenniff, half of the Mint Julep duo, creates ambient music as a solo musician. The depth of this soft and airy electronica is unfathomed, encompassing both beauty and mystery in its abyss.

Piano keys like flower petals, synthy sounds like a delicate wind and then, there's the background of the compositions: deep, multi-layered, dark. This makes me think of a meadow early in the morning: the traces of the incoming day on the vast canvas of the night that is still close enough to be a little scary. Emotions. As the label describes the album, it "delivers miles of endless bliss" and that's very true. I love it.

For Forever costs 12 USD.

Check: Surface

Country: Canada/US

Genre: multi-layered ambient

Label: Nettwerk Music Group

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