31 Dec 2010 — Henning Lahmann
In the last two years, there has been a lot of talking about shoegaze's resurrection, and a lot of new and emerging artists have clearly been building their sound on the heritage of My Bloody Valentine et al. Still, few have ever attempted to stay as true to the spirit of the original as Colorado Springs, Colorado resident Justin Thomas Schweitzer. When he is not busy playing for Tim Perry's pretty popular (and NFOP fav) garage pop outfit
Weed Diamond, JT is all about pedal effects with his solo endeavor
Junior Low, producing distorted guitar gorgeousness that is heavily drenched in reverb, music that has the aim, despite an undeniable pop appeal, to blow you away with its rolling tide of noise and sheer loudness.
Bloodlust is the latest example of JT's approach, six minutes of genuine shoegaze classicism. The tune is gonna be part of Junior Low's upcoming cassette
Almost Forever, to be released sometime soon - probably via our friends at
Bridgetown who had already dropped the appropriately titled
Heavy CDr earlier in 2010. The other song,
Shadow Corner, which has already appeared on Junior Low's self-titled debut tape on
Leftist Nautical Antiques and will supposedly be a part of
Almost Forever as well, serves as a breathtaking example of JT's skills as a songwriter -
Shadow Corner is a slow-burning ballad of stunning beauty, with a warm and gently clipping electric piano that first the characteristic layers of distorted guitars and then survives the wall of sound's collapse towards the song's ending, giving the song a very unique feel. Junior Low may have been one of the most overlooked artists of the shoegaze revival, but considering the fact that he without doubt is one of the most talented devotees of late 80s/early 90s indie, we may hope that with
Almost Forever, this will change in 2011.
(
Photo)
Junior Low - Bloodlust
Junior Low - Shadow Corner
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It's finally the first day of 2011, and we've got a pretty exciting but hectic year ahead of us — musically speaking, I mean. So, how do we celebrate this lovely, ice-cold first day of January? That's right, with some super melancholic Norwegian tunes!
It's almost three months since we first introduced you to the Norwegian Inquiries mixtape in collaboration with my other blog The Technicolor Sleep, where I wanted to focus on the musical gems that can be found within the borders of homeland Norway. Norwegian Inquiries II is the follow-up mixtape with the same intention, once again setting the focus on rather unknown bands within the indie, lo-fi and electronic genre. You might remember some of them already from earlier posts (Einar Stray, Lovecult, Dråpe, Benjamin Finger and Young Dreams to mention a few), while names such as The Summer Ends, Adobe Houses, Machine Birds and Aluco might still be rather unknown to your ears. Now, rest your head against the pillow and let these nordic tunes drift away the hangover from last night's new year's eve party and the consumption of champagne that followed.
DOWNLOAD.
(click the 'DL' link next to the tracks below to download more free music from the particular band/artist)
Tracklist:
01. Benjamin Finger - Drowned In Elbows
02. Young Dreams - Young Dreams [DL]
03. Dråpe - By Heart [DL]
04. Lovecult - One In Five [DL]
05. Synne Sanden - Traces [DL]
06. The Summer Ends - You Spin Dizzy For a Year [DL]
07. Ben Born - Love Is [DL]
08. Anana - The Easy Path [DL]
09. Einar Stray - Chiaroscuro [DL]
10. Post - Broken [DL]
11. Adobe Houses - Fedora [DL]
12. Aluco - There Is Nothing [DL]
13. Machine Birds - One Last Try [DL]
14. Per - Ensom Nebula [DL]
15. Fivrel - Andre Rom [DL]
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Elanor Logan of 
