Todays genre of the day is SHOEGAZER…
According to Mr Wiki, Shoegazing is a genre of music, getting its name because “the musicians in these bands often maintained a motionless performing style, standing on stage and staring at the floor while playing their instruments; hence, the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The shoegazing sound featured extensive use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blended into the creative noise of the guitars.” I couldn’t put it better myself.
On Friday I saw two bands more shoegazer than the rest, one Asobi Seksu, the other one Mr Ulrich Schnauss. Mr Schnauss was first up in this double A-side gig, and to be fair, I wasn’t impressed… Mr Schnauss has the impression of a man who lived at home with his mother, playing on his apple mac all day trying to find a new type of bleep sound, while his mum makes him cheese and pickle sandwiches (quite a good existence, if you think about it)… the bleeps were good, just on the wrong side of repetition. I ended up going to the toilet twice just to find something to do.
The main act Asobi Seksu then rocked up, and their sound was a hell of a lot louder than what I’ve heard from their almost ambient, but outstanding albums. Distorted keyboards and guitars filled my ears, which sounded good, but it was just too much for Yuki (their lead singer), who sounded drowned out by the wall of noise they created. I quickly worked out that their best songs were the ones without the effects pedals, where you can hear the beautiful singing voice of Yuki, along with the addictive guitar work, in its true glory… As a result, I only really enjoyed half the set…
However, for me they were both upstaged by the warm up act, the non-shoegaze Canadian indie rock stylings of Land of Talk. The three-piece didn’t need all the effect pedal distorition of Asobi Seksu or all the computer bleeps and synths of Henrich What-ever-his-name-was… Their songs were beautiful without all that crap… For me, they sounded like what I’ve wanted from indie rock from a long time. Their lead singer Lizzie took my breath away, as even though they were a loud band, she never sounded drowned out. This band brought a broad smile on my face, and I suppose this leads to my top tip… If you want to live a happier life, avoid shoegazers live…
Buy their 10 track debut album, Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, from Rough Trade (£11.99 including postage)
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Love the Land of Talk. In fact i booked them to play a party that i’m throwing in March. Can’t wait.
I would love credit for the mp3 link though.