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Late last week German shoegaze trio Jaguwar released their debut four-track EP simply titled, I, and it is well worth a listen.  It’s ultra-noisy, packed to the brim with sludgy, fuzzed-out guitars.  The intro track “Breathe Bullets Which Taste Like Pure Fruit”, gets things started like a kick to the face with a grimy hook, before it switches gears into the swirling beauty you sort of expect form a shoegaze album.  The music never gets too pretty though, and the most enjoyable quality of Jaguwar’s sound is the harmonious contrast of the echoing, entrancing vocals and the sheer nastiness of the guitar tone.  If you like noise it’s definitely worth your while to pick this up, and you can do so at Bandcamp.

Aguascalientes-based psych/shoegaze outfit Bleak Boys are back with a brand new track titled “Bleak Mates”.  The 7-minute track follows up the band’s debut EP Corrosive, one of my favorite releases of the year so far.  “Bleak Mates” is a powerful down tempo effort, featuring the band’s tendency toward massive guitar noise and distant, echoing vocals before diving into a gorgeous finale of swirling guitars.  A bit more on the shoegaze side of things, it’s definitely worth picking up at Bleak Boys’ Bandcamp page.  Hopefully this is a sign that more new music is coming soon!

France-based art collective Nøthing recently released their second compilation album Songs from Nøthing #2, a followup to last year’s We Want Nøthing More Than Nøthing #1.  The album features tracks from the collective’s stacked lineup of bands including music by Venera 4, future, Maria False, Dead Horse One, and more.  It can be downloaded via Bandcamp for whatever you’re willing to pay.  It’s pretty cool to hear covers of Nøthing artists made by other Nøthing artists, including this nice little track:

 

Dutch noise-makers Wolvon, whose 2013 album folds. was one of my favorites of the year, released their new EP bother. last week.  The band picked up right where they left off, pounding out four more blurry, uptempo tracks for your enjoyment.  You can pick up the EP on Bandcamp.  Wolvon today announced the music video for sort-of-title-track “BTHR”.  Check it out here:

Norwegian noise quartet The Megaphonic Thrift have released the latest single from their upcoming album. “Bergen Revels”, named after the band’s hometown, isn’t quite as dark as the singles we’d been accustomed to, but it’s really good nonetheless. It’s a lighter song, primarily showcasing TMT’s female vocals over a melodic base, lacking the harshness of its predecessors, but equally addictive.

The Megaphonic Thrift’s third album is expected to be released in the fall. Over the last couple years they have been building up quite a reputation with some great music, some stunning videos (thanks to creative studio Blank Blank), and touring in support of the likes of Dinosaur Jr, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and A Place to Bury Strangers.

Given the lack of recent activity, it is no surprise that Italian shoegaze outfit Sea Dweller has announced that it will be no more.  The band’s guitarist, Paolo, made the announcement on the Sea Dweller Facebook page and posted a link to a nostalgic live version of “She Whispers” recorded at an intimate gig some years back.  The individual members will still be active with their other projects (Cristiano’s CYMBLS, and Paolo’s My Violent Ego).  It really is a shame that Sea Dweller just seemed to lose steam after having done a lot over the years to build a reputation as one of the most promising artists in the global shoegaze scene.  Still, best of luck to Paolo, Paola, and Cristiano in the future.  Here is a screen shot of Paolo’s post:

One thing that will always have a special place in my heart is an intimately self-produced demo.  It’s always cool to hear a band working within their means to put the music about which they are passionate into a recorded form.  Obviously the sound is often lacking, but anyone who has been there before is certainly able to look past the poor production values and try to understand what the band was trying to achieve.

I was pretty stoked to see that Chinese noise pop/shoegazers The White Tulips put out a collection of tracks recorded at their rehearsal space in the form of “Wrapped in the Waves”.  Though they would call it their debut EP, the band’s drummer Milk has made it perfectly clear that it is merely a jumping off point for the band.  It is definitely a bit rough around the edges to say the least – snare rattling, murky guitars, soft vocals, and everything else that can be expected of some live demos.  Still the Xiamen-based band, who appeared at last year’s First East Asia Shoegaze Festival in Shanghai, put their passion into getting some recordings out there.

The band appears to be set on putting out a “high quality EP” in the near future, but for now there are six intimately recorded tracks to listen to.  The EP is currently available to stream (and with some understanding of Chinese or strategic use of Google Translate to purchase) at http://www.xiami.com/album/1795813587.  Be sure to keep an open mind when you give it a listen!

More great music being released out of Brooklyn, this time from Crown the Invisible.  The band released its self-titled album on April 8th and it is well worth a listen.  The 7-track release – which was produced entirely by the band – is loud throughout as it moves from huge droning guitars to more psyched-out grooves, offering a little bit of everything.  I’ve probably listened to the whole thing start to finish about ten times already and it’s stayed fresh and interesting.  You can get the album at the band’s Bandcamp page and be sure to give them a follow on Facebook as well.

 

Russian experimental noise project SELEKHOV has released a new 3-track EP titled Hide Hands, carrying on with the big array of noise featured on the band’s prior works.

It kicks off with the title track, which is about as straightforward as the album gets – droning guitars, a consistent, driven beat, and some post-punk vocals echoing from behind it all.  “Interplace” begins quite minimally, but over its four minute course is delicately wrapped in noise.  Eventually it becomes this thick, intense swirling mass of layers – the sort of sound you get lost in.  While “interplace” is essentially a crescendo, built as it goes along, the final track on Hide Hands, “violence”, is a deconstruction.  Starting off with the same sort of intensity at the conclusion of “interplace”, this track is slowly unraveled until it’s hypnotic, spaced-out innards are revealed.  The track sort of grooves on from this point, with textures added and subtracted here and there.

A lot happens in the thirteen minutes on this EP, offering a lot of variety and some really good tunes.  Best listened to with headphones at high volume from start to finish, and it’s available for free on Bandcamp so there’s really no excuse not to check it out.