The Californian Bethany Curve are another shoegaze classic who are back with new material. Being an American reply to the first wave of the legendary now projects such as My Bloody Valentine, the band released their last album in 2003. Now they came back and they did it with style.
As could be expected from and old school shoegaze band, Murder! is filled with thick and loud guitars and vocals that have more post-punk characteristics than dream pop ones. In this way they are closer to Jesus and Mary Chain or RIDE than to MBV. On the other hand, their compositions are long-winded and not so intensive and it makes them easier to drown into their melancholic-melodic atmosphere.
Especially that almost each of the tracks gets straight to the listeners' heads. From the moody introduction in I'm Alive (which obviously is the band's statement about their condition), through the album's best Dreamland with its hardly optimistic message but also with fabulous atmosphere, up to the ballad called Glory. The last one is te perfect example of the band's slow way of making music that at the same time keeps the audience's attention through the whole hour of the album's duration.
Murder! costs 10 USD.
Check: Dreamland
Country: California, US
Genre: old-style shoegaze
