Visiting Diplomats - Big Swell (2017) EN

Joined by the love for the music noise of the 90s, the band from Portland has just released a short EP that will still be a frequent guest in my shoegazing ears.

Again, I have to say that there's shoegaze and shoegaze. While some prefer slightly dirty post-punk in The Jesus And Mary Chain style or unkempt pop by Lush, some others, like for example Visiting Diplomats are more about the wall of sound being crushed with delicate melodies and vocals. The last thing is provided by Sarah Van Horn (and later by Michael Lynch) and it's a perfect match. The overwhelming noise hides her voice but when fished out, you can enjoy an absolutely brilliant chorus of the best track here, "Let Go".

The track, just like the two other, is soaked with grief and trauma of overcoming a break-up. Van Horn's voice is made for such stories. "Ocean" is a bit more lively and "Between the Walls"is very much melancholy driven. A fantastic idea was also including trumpets into this ravishing shoegaze.

The whole band with the name and the album cover gives the impression of a great nostalgia for the ending of the previous century. And it sounds perfect. "Let Go" will be one of my hit songs of February, no doubt.

"Big Swell" is to be bought for 3 USD.

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