Fluxblog 536: shooooooeeegaaaaaazzzzze
Plus new songs by PinkPantheress, L'Eclair, Nation of Language, and Black Country, New Road
This week’s playlist is 54 SHOEGAZE SONGS FOR ZONED-OUT ROMANCE, the latest in my ongoing series of playlists focusing on a genre/aesthetic without needing to get bogged down in history or attempts to be definitive. This is a 4 hour collection of shoegaze music from the 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, and 20s – it’s a pretty old tradition at this point! It includes songs by My Bloody Valentine, No Joy, Cocteau Twins, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Slowdive, Lush, Asobi Seksu, Wishy, and more.
[Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
That’s What Summer’s For
Black Country, New Road “Salem Sisters”
It’s a little hard to grasp why Black Country, New Road decided to carry on with the name after the band was forced to radically reinvent itself after the departure of their original frontman Isaac Wood. But I suppose there’s some door-opening value in minor name recognition, and this sort of thing worked out fantastically well for Pink Floyd and Genesis.
The new iteration of the group leans into the formal fussiness that’s always been part of their aesthetic, and is led by a trio of somewhat prim female vocals. Tyler Hyde sings lead on “Salem Sisters,” a bright piano-centric number with evocative lyrics about an unpleasant upper crust cookout and deliberately confounding shifts in tempo. It’s mannered and artsy and extremely British – charmingly uptight, melodically satisfying, and maybe a little too much, in a good way.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Nation of Language “Inept Apollo”
Ian Richard Devaney’s voice reminds me a lot of Brian Eno’s singing – a serene and handsome tone, a very relaxed sort of masculinity. He sounds a little aloof, but also empathetic and in touch with his feelings. “Inept Apollo” isn’t necessarily a step up from Nation of Language’s past material – it’s more of a lateral artistic move – but it’s a fine introduction to their sound, and their distinct balance of cold and warm currents.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Emotionally Out Of A Job
PinkPantheress “Girl Like Me”
I was always going to be an easy mark for this song, which substantially interpolates and updates Basement Jaxx’s classic “Romeo.” But I love where PinkPantheress goes with the underlying banger, making the Jaxx elements faster and more concentrated while adding a more melancholic melodic hook on the verses. Both songs cover essentially the same lyrical ground – realizing you’re unhappy with your relationship and want more than you’re getting. But whereas the implication of “Romeo” is that the person being addressed used to be incredibly romantic, poor PinkPantheress doesn’t even have that to look back on with some fondness.
Buy it from Amazon.
L’Eclair featuring Gelli Haha “Run”
Another song about a woman confused and disappointed by someone who is at least notionally their partner. A lot of that going around lately. This is also a dance song, but more in the 2000s post-punk revival mode. Which is to say, not so much the “lacerating angles” of first wave post-punk, and more of the gritty glamour and vague electronic patina of the sort of music I was covering towards the beginning of this site’s existence.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
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• Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins talked to Andy Greene at Rolling Stone about a lot of interesting things - why it’s taken so long to reissue the Machina records, why he’s made an effort to replicate the dense guitar overdubs of his albums on stage in recent years, and why he’s doing a Smashing Pumpkins deep cuts tour without the Smashing Pumpkins in order to keep peace with the other Smashing Pumpkins.
• Nick Sylvester of smartdumb lays out his philosophy of “smartdumb,” which is a lot more smart than dumb.