Nossiennes - Fresh Water Objects (2023)

The British band of Nossiennes appears on this blog quite reguralry. But there is a good reason for this: they release new stuff frequently and the new stuff is always a good stuff. It's no different with this year's Fresh Water Objects album.

Released, as always, by Shore Dive Records, the new album is long. This comes from the fact that for the band, a good composition needs time to properly develop and usually involves long, psychedelic and guitar-filled passages that aim to mesmerize the audience and swallow them completely. In this hazy and noisy environment, the vocals are only something that happens from time to tie: they are very much hidden in the backgrounds and dispersed so the music itself is put in the foreground. The peak of the airiness of this music is reached in the album's final track, Mell's Dream, that actually sounds as if it was not a noise rock song but a sacral event. 

Fresh Water Objects costs 5 USD.

Nossiennes - Liminal (2022)

Nossiennes - Vivere (2020)

Check: So That You Form a Hollow

Country: UK

Genre: noisy psychedelic rock

Label: Shore Dive Records

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The Leontini Vernacular - AMLA (2023)

Two years after the debut EP, Gregory Jameswood and the band he leads are back with new material released on the short album called AMLA. After certain changes in the lineup, the Bristol-based artist who some may know from another noisy band, Nossiennes, created new tracks and I have to say, they do sound really good.

It is no less and no more than a well-written noise pop. The melodies here are easy to follow, the backgrounds skillfully filled with guitar noise (so well, in fact, that some fragments sound like very noisy post-rock music) and the compositions short and dynamic. It's hard to say what's the main genre here: sometimes the music is closer to extremely catchy surf rock, sometimes it's as noisy as it gets. This flexible approach to music is only fitting when you take into consideration the album's main theme, which is "dealing with shadowy aspects of love and loss".

AMLA costs 4 USD.

Nossiennes - Vivere (2020)

Nossiennes - Liminal (2022)

Check: P F

Country: UK

Genre: noise pop

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Waterville - Isle of Blue (2022)

The Polish band of Waterville is not the main thing that comes to mind when you think of noisy artists in Poland. But it's a mistake as the Białystok-based outfit's second ever EP shows, once again, top quality dream pop music.

Isle of Blue, brought to you by Shore Dive Records, has already been recognized by some important worldwide players, including DKFM. And it's not a surprise as it's filled with dreamy and noisy songs or, like they advertise themselves, "new apocalyptic dreampop/shoegaze" content.  Their music is more about the moody, atmospheric than it is about the catchy and the melodic. It's not particularly fast-paced but it's very well at keeping the suspense up (so well audible in the album's longest track, War and the closure in Under the Water). In fact, the band is really good at creating the vast, spacious atmosphere, which is especially well-tangible during their live gigs.

Isle of Blue costs 3 USD.

Check: Breathing

Country: Poland

Genre: spacious dream pop

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Skuund - Social Animal (2022)

As far as I know, it is the second Polish band that is being released by one of my favourite labels, Shore Dive Records. Skuund are from the Northern Poland and successfully combine at least two guitar-based genres, something that is all too well visible at their second (and first one recorded in English) album called Social Animal. 

This is either unorthodox post-punk or unorthodox noise rock. The album opens with a post-rock-like intro that offers a good deal of engaging guitar music, but it is followed by Alaska (my favourite track here) that is reigned by the Martin Howard's post-punk vocals (with a hint of Editors' Tom Smith) and socially engaged lyrics. This song is the best show case of the band's fantastic ability to write super catchy melodies that, at the same time, are strikingly moody and gloomy. Often based on repeated phrases (like in You Can't Hide Forever), with lyrics that usually point at the listener, engaging them even more. The vocals, the melodies, but also the quality of the guitars' sound is top-notch. I'd say this is what drove me to this album, the heaviness and dark energy that flows out of the instrumental parts with It Wasn't What You Took and Bad Days as the best examples.

Social Animal costs 5 USD (though the label's Bandcamp).

Check: Alaska 

Country: Poland

Genre: noisy post-punk

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Seven Hour Days - Coast to the Clouds (2022)

Seven Hour Days is Steve Matzkov, an Australian artist known from projects like The High Impedance, Dobson & Fitch and Matzal. This time, he released his new album called Coast to the Clouds via Shore Dive Records and filled with a lo-fi, fantastically engaging shoegaze sounds.

The compositions here are very noisy with this lo-fi kind of guitar noise that makes everything sounds very garage-like and very honest at the same time. There's a solid dose of pedal effects everywhere and the overall vibe of the EP surely makes you think of the early shoegaze era. Especially that the vocaloid-provided vocals are highly psychedelic, often used more as an additional instrument then actually a vehicle for lyrics and these are the parts I appreciate the most. Especially that the whole MBV-like guitar experimentations that fill the speakers are of the best kind, as it is the case in my personal favourite, Stay Away

Coast to the Clouds costs 5 USD.

Check: Stay Away

Country: Australia

Genre: lo-fi shoegaze

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Last Victorian Death Squad - Just In Case I Never See You Again (2021)

The Leeds and Riga-based Last Victorian Death Squad have been releasing their music with Shore Dive Records for some time now, but previously their material didn't really strike the cord with me. It all changed this July with the EP entitled Just In Case I Never See You Again.

The "purveyors of violent noise and blissful melodies" showed four energetic and noisy songs that simply burst with energy. The particularly noisy and chaotic backgrounds bring the psychedelic trance-like experience to the mix, while very much rock-like vocals give a lot of lively, danceable vibes. This is some shoegazey rock'n'roll here - the one you expect people to crazily dance to during live gigs. And similarly, the lyrics are also mostly about love, some experiences you can share with the artists but it's nothing that would be a downer preventing you from partying. I especially like Kiev, the track the EP's title comes from and one that talks about what is probably the most beautiful aspect of love - the fear of longing after the other person.

Just In Case I Never See You Again costs 3 USD.

Check: Kiev 

Country: UK/Latvia

Genre: noisy indie rock

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Lunation Fall - NEAR (2021)

Lunation Fall, "sparkles and noise making band from Lyon, France", is a new thing on the dreamy music scene. But judging by the two labels they managed to interest in their material, it soon will be better known. And quite rightfully so, as NEAR shows some juicy and sweet music, perfect for the moody noisy pop they do.

As they point out, their music hovers somewhere between delicate dream pop and noisier genres, being "in a constant quest for the alliance between melancholic dream pop and unleashed noise rock". The vocals are beautifully airy but with this dose of pop-like catchiness that doesn't let them entirely melt within the guitar-based, thick backgrounds. In the artists' words, they seek "this fragile spot where the melodic sweetness is combined with the power of a wall of sound carried by a feverish and airy rhythmic". It seems to me that they found it, as the album ranges from lighter melodies with the elements of bedroom/indie pop to heavy guitar riffs and mesmerizing noise present in the backgrounds all over the release. This makes me think of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (especially in Reflections) combined with some more intimate and lo-fi indie pop project, good stuff.

NEAR costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Sweet Misery

Country: France

Genre: noisy dream pop

Label: Stellar Frequencies/Shore Dive Records

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Submotile - Sonic Day Codas (2021)

Submotile is an Italian-Irish band of musician inspired by noisy and psychedelic face of pop-rock music. There's tons of guitar loudness and background noise with light melodies on the foreground. This sums up their second (?), released in April album called Sonic Day Codas.

And as it is the way with this kind of music, the psychedelic is what drives it throughout the whole album. Soothing and ethereal vocals singing out graceful melodies are one thing but what is most attention-worthy is what happens in the background. And it's usually a real storm of distorted and overdrive-full guitars raging their way to be heard. The band surely knows how to use their energy not to overwhelm the compositions and to sound like My Bloody Valentine in the backgrounds (so good in Microdose!) but a neat dream pop band in the foregrounds.

What strikes me the most while listening to this albums is the quality of the noise sound, it is not easy to deliver such a dirty-sounding material without sounding super lo-fi but Submotile did it. There are also some parts that stand out in this fairly homogeneous blend of psychedelia this albums is. Most certainly the whole song Cyanotic with raging guitars, fun melody and such an impressive finish making me think of Rev Rev Rev's Blame. Another thing is that they can also create captivating ballad-like pieces (like Anhedonia for example) for which the level of psychedelic fun is the same although the pace changes to slower one that makes it only more mesmerizing.

Sonic Day Codas costs 6 EUR.

Check: Cyanotic 

Country: Ireland/Italy 

Genre: noisy psychedelic pop

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Neonach - Neonach (2021)

Neonach is a solo project by Craig Douglas, another artist who developed his ideas during the lockdown season. Thanks to Shore Dive Records, I'm lucky to discover his music on the debut album called, of course, Neonach.

To be precise, it's the debut album under this moniker, as the Massachusetts-based artist creates music also as Omega Vague. As Neonach, he makes music that borders both ethereal dream pop and psychedelic electronica while still not shying away from reaching towards such extreme genres as metal (the background-placed, dispersed metal screaming in Volution is something absolutely beautiful) or noisy drones (Below). He has also a help of other vocalists: Izzy Hagerup, Tara Toms and Waritsara 'Yui' Karlberg (known as Ethereal) - they all add up to the dreaminess of this music as well as to its multidimensional vibes.

This multidimensional nature makes the whole album a psychedelic trip through many aesthetic choices and paces while all the time having the dreamy, ethereal spirit all over the place. This is the release's great advantage that goes on from the impressive start to the equally interesting finish.

Neonach costs 5 USD.

Check: Volution 

Country: Massachusetts, US

Genre: psychedelic dream rock

Label: Shore Dive Records

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Tender Tones - Youth Retirement Club (2020) EN

Manon Deruytere and Maxime Pargaud make up the Tender Tones duo. The Paris-based artists, a new item in Shore Dive Records' portfolio, are into exceptionally atmospheric combination of dream pop and a lot of synth sounds. How good it turned out to be can be checked on their new EP called Youth Retirement Club.

The Frenchmen's band doesn't sound like energetic synthpop, quite the contrary, talking about synths and flat, synthetic beats it's closer to minimalist vibes of coldwave. Then there are also some mysterious, darkwavish whispers in Red Lovers. On the other hand, both the engaging melodies and distorted, airy vocals are surely something that came from dream pop. This cold etheric atmosphere sounds great, especially when the two opposites - the darkness of wave and the dreaminess of dream pop closely work together as it is in the great Still White Noise. 

No wonder then that the album is co-released by the shoegazey Shore Dive Records and wave Somewherecold. An ideal marriage..

Youth Retirement Club costs 3 EUR.

Check: Still White Noise

Country: France

Genre: ethereal wave

Label: Shore Dive Records / Somewherecold

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Tender Tones - Youth Retirement Club (2020) PL

Manon Deruytere i Maxime Pargaud tworzą Tender Tones. Duet z Paryża, nowa pozycja w portfolio Shore Dive Records, specjalizuje się w niezwykle atmosferycznym połączeniu dream popu i dużej ilości syntezatorowych dźwięków. Jak dobrze to połączenie wypada przekonać można się na nowej EP-ce artystów zatytułowanej Youth Retirement Club.

Muzyka Francuzów nie brzmi jak energiczny synthpop, a w sferze syntezatorów i płaskich, syntetycznych bitów bardziej przypomina minimalistyczne klimaty coldwave'u. Do tego dochodzą też tajemnicze szepty w Red Lovers. Z drugiej strony zarówno wciągające melodie i rozproszone, eteryczne wokale to już zdecydowanie zasługa dream popu. Taka zimna eteryka robi bardzo dobre wrażenie, najfajniej, gdy obie skrajności - mrok wave'u i rozmarzenie dream popu ze sobą ściśle współgrają, a tak jest w świetnym Still White Noise. 

Nic dziwnego zresztą, że krążek wydawany jest przez shoegaze'owe Shore Dive Records ale też wave'owe Somewherecold. Mariaż niemal idealny.

Youth Retirement Club kosztuje 11 złotych (3 EUR).

Sprawdź: Still White Noise

Kraj: Francja

Szufladka: ethereal wave

Label: Shore Dive Records / Somewherecold

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Beatastic - Diffraction (2019) EN

What's the simplest way to achieve success (at least in your own eyes)? "Doing the opposite of bands I don't like", as says Nicolas Pierre Wardell a.k.a. Beatastic, musician from Paris and making his music from Bristol. He has recently released an EP Diffraction in Shore Dive Records.

The artist is inspired by quite a number of music genres - from shoegaze to grunge, and no wonder his album is really diverse. You can notice there this shoegaze/dream pop's love for airy vocals and dreamy atmosphere, but also a lot of synthwave, post-punk and even oriental folk's elements. But still, it's mostly in the style of the oldschool, RIDE-esque shoegaze (this vocal, especially in Sky High!), and it's more than enough to be tempted to try the Frenchman's music.

Diffraction  costs 3 USD.

Check: Sky High

Country: France/UK

Genre: synthwave shoegaze

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Beatastic - Diffraction (2019) PL

Jaki jest najprostszy sposób na sukces (przynajmniej we własnych oczach)? "Robienie dokładnego przeciwieństwa niż zespoły, których nie lubię", tak mówi Nicolas Pierre Wardell a.k.a. Beatastic, muzyk pochodzący z Paryża a tworzący w Brystolu. Niedawno wydał w Shore Dive Records krótką EP-kę Diffraction.

Artysta inspiruje się wieloma gatunkami muzyki - od shoegaze'u po grunge, nic dziwnego, że wydał mocno zróżnicowaną płytę. Słychać w niej shoegaze'owo-dreampopowe zamiłowaniu do eterycznego wokalu i rozmarzonej atmosfery, ale poza tym dużo jest z synthwave'u, post-punku, a nawet z orientalnego folku. Najbardziej jednak przypomina to oldschoolowy shoegaze spod znaku RIDE (ten wokal, zwłaszcza w Sky High!), co jest wystarczającą zachętą żeby spróbować muzyki Francuza.

Diffraction  kosztuje 12 złotych (3 USD).

Sprawdź: Sky High

Kraj: Francja/UK

Szufladka: synthwave shoegaze

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