Cats of Transnistria - IV (2025)

POV: A band checks all your personal boxes to catch your interest. Having a great, unusual name; being from a beautiful and unusual place; and most importantly, creating magical music. No wonder that the Helsinki-based Cats of Transnistria have appeared on this blog many times already and it is safe to say that with every new album they will be featured here too. 

Because the band's dream pop is how this should be done. And since it's been already 6 (!) years since their previous (and my favourite!) album, I had to post about IV. Henna Emilia Hietamäki and Tuomas Alatalo have a great ability of creating moody, intimate dreamy tracks that do not shy away from using lightly louder guitars as it is the case in very old-school rock like parts of Thunder as an Arrow (no wonder that the video to this track looks like taken from the 90s.). I appreciate that, but still my favourites are the songs that mesmerize with repetitive structure and airy atmosphere. Like Horrors, a beautiful little nightmare.

And so the dream finally comes to an end with the extremely airy Ceiling of Stars and one can only want to go back. The cosy, very artistic and drawing from other genres dream pop from Finland is quite addictive.

IV costs 7 EUR.

Check: Horrors

Country: Finland

Genre: art dream pop

Label: Soliti

Cats of Transnistria - Aligning (2019)

Cats of Transnistria - Opium (2018)

Cats of Transnistria - Divine (2016)

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Sterile Cuckoo - Until All the Flocks Are Gathered (2025)

Dream pop that feels both intimate, melancholic and filled with life and emotions? Lively ambient meeting sadcore vocals? This is how Sterile Cuckoo's third album feels and I gotta say, there is little that could be done to grab my emotions more.

The name of the project is taken from a novel by John Nichols that was adapted to the screen by Alan Pakula so you know it's bound to be about interhuman emotions and the music proves is so well. The lo-fi atmosphere certainly help as well as the artist feels so close to the audience that you can almost hear his breathing (this closeness reminds me of what Raised by Swans does so well). But you can't say it's a monotonous singer/songwriter type of lo-fi project. 

Sterile Cuckoo creates compositions in which "haunting synths weave a tapestry of ethereal textures, interspersed with cascading guitar lines that radiate like distant starbursts", making soundscapes that are bursting with life while still feeling slow and contemplative. I love the addition of strings in Spring and Loss that is not too invasive but fits right in. Similarly the glitchy effects in Grave Memories and many more. Elements that enrich the compositions, without overtaking them and overshadowing the clue. And yes, the artis admits what we know already, the music is designed as a tool for meditation, for taking a while to reflect on your lives, on your emotions. And it works, maybe even too much.

Until All the Flocks Are Gathered costs 1 EUR.

Check: Spring and Loss

Genre: vibrant slowcore

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ANIMADORA - Sobre lo visible (2025)

If anyone craves some dreamy vibes but with strong sense of rock-like energy, very emotional vocals and heavy guitars, the second EP from the Spanish ANIMADORA is something to try. Sobre lo visible may be short, but there is some fantastic vibes included.

ANIMADORA seems to be a solo project by Andrea Podadera that evolved into a 5-pieces band (at least that's what RYM suggests). And this wide line-up is certainly audible: the compositions are multi-layered, with a big focus put on creating the shoegaze atmosphere but still maintaining the rock/grunge-like energy. The tracks are usually vibrant and fast, they make me think on the band's compatriots (at least formally!) from Arima, so I know that I won't stop listening to the alum anytime soon.

The EP talks a lot about relationships (that didn't go that well) in an emotional but also extremely poetic way. It is in Spanish, which I appreciate, so I have to rely mostly on a translator, but, yeah, those kinds of words are very universal. It is so well visible in the opening track that talks about the Devil the protagonist falls in love with and in El Carro:inóvil, certainly the most emotional piece here. 

Sobre lo visible costs 5 EUR.

Check: El Carro:inóvil 

Country: Spain

Genre: grungy shoegaze

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