Shoegaze is alive and well.. in Russia! We investigate.
[Video][Website]
[5.88]
Iain Mew: It feels so apt that the cover art for this single sees Pinkshinyultrablast’s visual aesthetic converge with that of mobile game Monument Valley. There has been something of the same feeling of intricate, perfectly formed wonder in their music all along — shoegaze monuments, mystery and splendour all maintained, but with all the details rendered in fascinating miniature. And “In the Hanging Gardens” with its shimmering synths and sighing chorus and melodic flurries is their most delightfully realised version yet: a sonic cathedral in a snowglobe.
[9]
Nortey Dowuona: Low, droning bass, scattered synth chords and distant, drifting drums as Lyubov Soloveva drifts like a ghost amongst the wreckage.
[4]
Edward Okulicz: A modern take on shoegaze/dreampop continuum, and pretty, but texture-wise this feels like cellophane. I feel like a band exactly midway between this and The Japanese House might score a never-ending run of 10s from me but it’s not quite there.
[5]
Alex Clifton: Fizzy synths and a dreamy soundscape, dwelling more in the abstract for the first minute and a half before landing on solid ground for a lush chorus. It’s so rich, especially with how the synthesizer piles upon itself. I don’t even mind that the vocals get a bit drowned: the overall effect is like a watercolour, with all the shades bleeding into one another, so the fact that it’s difficult to tell where one aspect ends and another begins is phenomenal. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a song so ornately constructed, and the overall effect is stunning.
[8]
Alfred Soto: A Russian act whose song title nods to The Cure’s 1989 rumbling classic but with loud synths replacing the tumbling drums. It’s pretty but rather too diaphanous for my taste.
[6]
Brad Shoup: They programmed their double drumstrikes to sound like a dropped stick. The suspense kept me riveted until the chorus, wherein the synths melt with the guitars, and the portion where the bass gets lost in a thicket of trebly trees.
[6]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: A poorly arranged tsubo-niwa. It’s meant to envelop and transport, but Lyubov’s vocals are too much of a focal point for “In The Hanging Gardens” to do just that. The synths are consequently too low in the mix, unable to register as anything more than hollow window dressing. The issue here is one that’s familiar to countless shoegaze and dream pop bands: the masking of poor songwriting with generous reverb and “evocative” atmospherics. This wasn’t a noticeable issue with the group’s debut LP, but they’ve been straying further into Pop Song territory ever since and the results have been lackluster.
[3]
Claire Biddles: Recreating shoegaze’s towering wall of glitter with electronics instead of guitars seems like such an neat trick that I’m surprised this is the first time I’ve heard it played. With its driving synths and drums, “In the Hanging Garden” is evocative of cold morning walks, or train journeys through unfolding icy fields, but lacks the hook to align it with a specific event. Band name of the year, though.
[6]