Goofy Ginz - 'Twas Fun (2023)

An alt rock post-hardcore band is a rare thing on my blog, but the Polish band of Goofy Ginz draws from so many interesting music genres that I couldn't just miss on their debut album. 'Twas Fun surprised me with the amount of noisy and atmospheric moments that make the music here richer and deeper.

The vocals are very post-hardcore-like: sometimes cleanish, sometimes desperate-sounding in true screamo-like fashion. But unlike I'd presumed, the compositions are very interesting: they are long and attacking the audience with loud guitar passages that makes me think of many genre inspirations from psychedelic mesmerizing rock to atmospheric post-rock (Rav Muff) with great quality of guitar sound. But that's not all, there's also some more exotic, from my perspective, elements like some ska and hip-hop bits. A lot is going on from the beginning to the end of the album and it's one of those that make boredom out of the question.

'Twas Fun costs 3.5 EUR (15 PLN).

Check: Doomed

Country: Poland

Genre: post-hardcore noise rock

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SPACESHIPS - Ruins (2023)

The experienced band from Indiana (a decade passed since their debut album I Am a Storm at Sea!!!) released their fourth album this year and, while I came for the the guest musician in the first track, I stayed for the overall quality of their heavy and enchanting music on Ruins.

For any shoegaze/nugaze fan who hasn't been living under a stone for last years, the highlight of the album is gotta be the guest appearance of Ryan Osterman (Holy Fawn) in the opening track. However, the band proves that they don't need the bait really as already the following track, Sinews, is at least as good with overwhelming guitar music and super catchy finish. But their music is not only about being loud; there's a surprising amount of slower, calmer tracks that go in the direction of a very oldschool rock music with inclusion of some interesting instruments like, I believe, saxophone in Seedlings. Those slightly retro vibes are only strengthened by the way the vocals feel.

But probably the most important thing about this album is how easy for the band was to create ultimately catchy tunes here. From Spillt to Sinews and Shared Graves: next to every composition here hides a super engaging part that suddenly appears and you forget about all of the noise: it's just the melody that matters.

Ruins costs 7 USD.

Check: Spillt

Country: Indiana, US

Genre: doomgaze

Label: Friend Club Records

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Colision - Lost Ghosts, Vol. 1 (2021)

Two years after showing an extremely interesting debut album HEALING IS NOT LINEAR, the French band Colision (watch for the spelling) are back with a new EP that includes some quality noisy guitar sounds and dreamy loudness of the best kind. Let's try Lost Ghosts, Vol. 1.

The EP is so short it could as well be a single or perhaps a part of something bigger, like the title suggests. It features music kept in similar vibes as the previous album - psychedelically diverse approach to noisy genres like shoegaze, noise rock, etc. The guitar sounds are extremely heavy, ready to crush the audience at any time but also have these smooth vibes that characterize more shoegaze-only artists like 93millionmilesfromthesun for instance. Also the dispersed, hidden and very ethereal vocals point in this direction. However, the compositions have something wild about them. The pace changes all the time as do the ideas what a particular track is about. It's not the chaos of mathrock but definitely some influences there, especially that there are also more furious, metal-like vocals in the backgrounds, adding up to the eclectic ethereality of the compositions. 

Lost Ghosts, Vol. 1 costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: swim while it rains 

Country: France

Genre: mathrock shoegaze

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Deep Red - Before You Leave EP (2020) PL

Deep Red to projekt zbudowany wokół dwójki artystów znanych tylko jako Leah i Scott, a pochodzących z Dallas. Po serii singli w zeszłym roku, przyszedł czas na ich debiut w dłuższej formie wraz z EP-ką Before You Leave.

Ich muzyka sytuuje się gdzieś pomiędzy shoegaze'em a hard rockiem, gitarowe dźwięki są nie tylko głośne, ale też rockowo melodyjne, a w riffach często można rozpoznać alt rockowe naleciałości. Z drugiej strony trochę gotycki, trochę post-punkowy wokal Leah dopełnia tej kolorowej, nie tylko głęboko-czerwonej mieszanki. To połączenie twardej, przebojowej gitarowej muzyki i pewnego shoegaze'ującego vibe'u wypada u Teksańczyków wyjątkowo dobrze, warto się przypatrywać karierze zespołu.

Before You Leave kosztuje tyle, ile chcesz zapłacić.

Sprawdź: Over and Gone

Kraj: Teksas, US

Szufladka: shoegazing hard rock

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Deep Red - Before You Leave EP (2020) EN

Deep Red is a project built around two artists known only as Leah and Scott, who hail from Dallas. After a series of single last year, it's time for their longer debut with the EP called Before You Leave.

Their music is situated somewhere between shoegaze and hard rock, the guitar sounds here are not only loud but also rock-like melodic while the riffs present a lot of alt rock influences. On the other hand, Leah's a bit gothic, a bt post-punk vocals complete this colourful, not only deep red, combination. This mix of hard, catchy guitar music and somewhat shoegazing vibes results in the Texans' music in a really good album and it's advisable to follow their career.

Before You Leave costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Over and Gone

Country: Texas, US

Genre: shoegazing hard rock

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Fleur Du Mal - Spleen I (2019) EN

Fleur Du Mal is a duo made of artists Obermann and Faber, musicians who are present of the country's music scene for a while now, this time join their forces with a clear goal. For now they have released an EP called Spleen I.

The artists place their music somewhere between the French chanson, alternative rock and post-metal while defining their goal as "to give a dream back to a French scene rooted in the realism of its disillusioned era". Quite a genre range but also a noble goal. Another one is war against cynicism as "Cynicism is what will kill us all". This whole thing resulted in an album on which one is supposed to hear both Etienne Daho and Deftones and Mogwai.

It starts with a dirty track played mostly on synths. But it's just a beginning, the next ones are ruled by quite screamy guitars between which the Alcest-like vocal dances. Actually there's more common points with the more famous French band while the main difference is more alt-rock vibes and higher pace offered by the Paris-based musicians up to the actually post-rock-like finish in Nuit.

Spleen I costs 5 USD.

Check: Nuit

Country: France

Genre: shoegazing alt-rock

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Fleur Du Mal - Spleen I (2019) PL

Fleur Du Mal to duet założony przez muzyków Obermanna i Fabera, artystów tworzących na krajowej scenie już od jakiegoś czasu, tym razem łączących siły z jasnym celem. Na razie wydali debiutancką EP-kę zatytułowaną Spleen I.

Artyści umiejscawiają swoją muzykę pomiędzy francuskim chanson, alternatywnym rockiem i post-metalem a swój cel definiują jako "przywrócenie marzeń francuskiej scenie zakorzenionej w realizmie swoich wypranych ze złudzeń czasów". Duże rozproszenie gatunkowe ale i cel szczytny. Innym jest walka z cynizmem, bo "cynizm to to, co nas wszystkich zabija". Dało to wyraz płytą, na której ma być słychać i Etienne Daho i Deftones i Mogwai.

Zaczyna się ona bardzo brudnym kawałkiem zagranym przede wszystkim na synthach. Ale to dopiero początek, w kolejnych królują dość wrzaskliwe gitary, między którymi lawiruje wokal brzmiący jak żywcem wyjęty z twórczości Alcest. Zresztą podobieństw jest więcej, natomiast zespoły różnie przede wszystkim bardziej alt-rockowy charakter i szybsze tempo paryżan aż po zupełnie post-rockową końcówkę w Nuit.

Spleen I kosztuje 20 złotych (5 USD).

Sprawdź: Nuit

Kraj: Francja

Szufladka: shoegazing alt-rock

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