Our favorite recent shoegaze project might be the Australian five piece band Oceans. In their words, “With inspirations varying from Joy Division and Slowdive to Boards of Canada and Tycho, the heart of Oceans’ sound is a dedication to experimentation and timbre, creating vast sonic landscapes inspired by ambient, new wave and 90’s shoegaze.” We find them melodically delectable.
Their writing stays on brand but brings notable variation between works. The vocals consistently enhance the harmonious spectrum, adding feeling and vulnerability consistent with the genres emo roots. They’re a sure thing for fans of projects like Nothing and Whirr, but in Oceans we also see commercial potential. They are undeniably catchy, breaking out of their niche with intoxicating melodies that get under your skin, in that way they recalls dreamy breakthroughs like Beach House.
Amour, Soft, and Breathless are all fair starting points. Once they pull you in, you’ll discover their entire catalog delivers.
Oceans are featured on our Best New Rock Playlist.
Denver rockers …And The Black Feathers make a bold statement with their recent EP In Plain Sight. Featuring the singles Ticket and Hollywood, the band makes their mission known. …And The Black Feathers is meant to rip your face off live. On Ticket, they blend the vicious retro rock appeal of MC5 with some of the modern adaptation known to The Hives and the boutique alternative update known to QOTSA.
The vibe adapts with progressive drama on HOLLYWOOD. A visceral aggression erupts in the songs chorus section. It reflects the sentiment suggested in the EP’s title. HOLLYWOOD accentuates the insanity of it all, and the band properly responds with an energetic performance meant to inspire fury in their audience. Stylistically we hear evidence of The Kills with some mainstream hard rock influence mixed in. As the band suggests in their bio, “expect to jump out of your seat.”
…And The Black Feathers are featured on our Best New Rock Playlist.
Far Caspian caught our attention with their new single Own. The poetic indie musings of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Joel Johnston yields intoxicating melancholy fruit. The crisp presentation features bright punchy textured guitars. His cautious vocal delivery carefully navigates an impressive range and gracefully adapts to a falsetto to grab the highest offerings from the top end of his melodic tree.
A layered dramatic instrumental outro adds to the cinematic intention. Stylistically it recalls alternative rocks first wave of sad heroes, artists like Elliot Smith who inspired the likes of Pete Yorn or Wilco. The artist also embraces innovators like Sparklehorse and Autolux.
Hear Own for yourself now on our Best New Rock Playlist.
Arizona project Static Door recently dropped an impressive three song release titled Ghosts. The eclectic trio features elements of bedroom pop to match its indie rock instincts. Its heard on the title track, a melodic catchy breakout that suggests how Dayglow might sound if he was produced by The War On Drugs. The pop influences rise to the surface on the subsequent Be Mine, a sure thing for fans of buzz bands like Del Water Gap. The closing Train offers some introspective melancholy contrast, evolving like shoegaze inspired dream pop. Ghosts is a notable debut with exciting potential. We can’t wait to hear how the project develops from here.
Static Door is featured on our Best New Rock Playlist.
The Wild Is Calling 