Dråpe-Blue Skies

When I first stumbled upon the warm, brisk sounds of Norwegian band Dråpe late last year I had no idea that their luscious brand of shoegaze riddled dream pop would captivate me in the way that it did but fast forward a few months and here I am, still completely infatuated. Today started off like any other Tuesday normally would but what made better, even at 10 in the morning, was the news that Dråpe would be releasing a follow up to their 2011 self titled EP sometime in April and along with that came the album’s first single, which is aptly titled “Blue Skies”.  With its keen attention to detail and breathtakingly vibrant nature, the track immediately whisks listeners away to that serene, blissful dream like world that Drape so delicately constructs with all of their material. Everything moves at a steady yet fluent pace, sounding lush, hypnotizing, and incredibly alluring just like dream pop should be, and if you weren’t sure of Drape’s consistency by now then “Blue Skies” is here to make you way more certain. The band just released the Blue Skies 7”, which features the B-side “Wash Away”, via Riot Factory and if that’s not enough then check out Drape’s self titled release over on soundcloud.  

Miniatures-Midwinter (Air)

One of the newer labels to come to my attention is the San Diego based digital and cassette label, Bleeding Gold Records. Though I’ve only been familiar with them for a few weeks now and I’m still taking time to go through their release catalog, everything that I’ve heard thus far has been absolutely magical and captivating. Music is one of the greatest outlets for creativity and passion alike, and judging from what I’ve heard on Bleeding Gold, each artist on the label is full of both. After spending some time contemplating what to post to give you all a good representation of BG, I decided on their second May release which was Miniatures self titled EP. Miniatures is a new wave/ shoegaze duo hailing from New Zealand, consisting of sisters Annemarie and Che Walden. Their EP only has four tracks but duration aside, it’s without a doubt a release that shouldn’t be looked over. It hints at elements of late 80’s/early 90’s shoegaze acts while also offering a dose of heavy, dreamy ambiance and vocals that reside somewhere between being angelic and a tad bit haunting. It can be atmospheric and uptempo or reverb fueled and slow moving but regardless, Miniatures sound beautiful throughout every track and this EP is a testament to just how talented these sisters are. Luckily for all of my followers, this release is available for a free download through Bleeding Gold’s bandcamp, so you really have no reason not to pick this up. While you’re on the site, I highly recommend checking out more of what BG has to offer and grabbing what you can for various prices. It’s a damn good way to kick off your September. 

Tearjerker-You Can

After endlessly spinning their last album Rare, I was eager to see what new things would be on the horizon for the Toronto shoegaze three piece known as Tearjerker. I’d heard on twitter that fresh music was coming and with word of the news, excitement ensued. Well today, I had a reason to celebrate and it certainly wasn’t because school was starting back, instead it was because Tearjerker dropped four new tracks in the form of an EP titled Hiding. Every song does an amazing job of capturing the beauty and pure magic of Tearjerker’s music and honestly for me to say that this is a perfect release would be a bit of an understatement. Tearjerker has always had a special way of captivating listeners and pulling them into a world that seems somewhat far from reality and with Hiding, the group proves that they’re only getting better with every release. It’s incredibly easy to get lost in the subtle moving indie grooves and the lo-fi saturated atmosphere and once it’s all over you’ll be pressing that repeat button before you know it. So stop whatever you’re doing and head over to bandcamp to grab a digital copy of Hiding for a “name your own” price or a limited edition cassette copy for $6. You’ll be glad that you did.

TAWD-Mountains Beside Me

After some advice from a follower I was able to discover a producer by the name of TAWÐ. I quickly understood that this was something I could get behind. This song Mountains Beside Me has a very calming melody but to an upbeat tempo. As if you could put dissonance and consonance together and tilt your head back but nod at the same time.  It is the fourth track on the NorthWestern Passages EP. If you’re as interested as I am, then you can scoop this EP here on Bandcamp, at a price you can decide on for yourself. He has also finished his first music video for his song ”Eight Years” and you can see it here on YouTube. I believe this is an early stage of something that could blow up in the near future. TAWÐ is from Vancouver, Canada and you can check out his other tracks on Soundcloud.