If you’ve never heard of Whimsical, a shoegaze/dream pop band comprised of vocalist Krissy Vanderwoude and guitarist Neil Burkdoll, you may be new to the shoegaze genre or just not very active on shoegaze community social channels.
Lead single “Laura” is a gem of a pop song: clocking in at a scant two minutes and forty-one seconds, the track only lingers long enough to make an impression. A propulsive drumbeat, hypnotic guitar melody, and lush synthesizer set the backdrop for Shusterich to craft yet another earwarm melody, in which she finds new ways to stretch out the name “Laura.”
The Julia/Spring 7″ from Melbourne’s Lowtide will appeal to fans of the 80’s UK Post-Punk sound made popular by Chameleons UK, Echo and The Bunnymen and The Sound. The 2 track single melds the Post-Punk sound with 90’s Shoegaze a la Kitchens Of Distinction and Slowdive.
For those of you eagerly awaiting a new Slowdive record, this release may just tide you over! Pure Phase Ensemble is a collective of musicians including Ride frontman Mark Gardener (how refreshing to not have to say FORMER), Raymond Dickaty (a member of Spiritualized from 1997-2002), Jacek Rezner (Wilga), Kamil Hordyniec (Wilga), Michał Pydo (Hatifnats), Michał ‘Kostek’ Stolc (Cisza nocna) and Karol Schwarz (KSAS).
This last song from Star Horse is a new site favorite, with roots deep in the Shoegaze/Dreampop category. It’s a wonderfully blissed out mellow track, with vocals that feature ethereal female vocals for the verses, layered male/female harmornies for the chorus and perfectly fuzzed out, catchy guitar riffs.