However, 2023 saw a flurry of new activity from Cranes, straight from the source. Firstly, the band released a string of radio sessions recorded for the late, great John Peel in 1989 and 1990, many of which had never been circulated previously. Additionally, the band announced two shows, one in hometown Portsmouth and the other in the heart of London, both of which sold out immediately. Both shows were meant to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 1993’s Forever, one of the band’s most beloved recordings that also earned them a slot opening for The Cure’s celebrated Wish tour, which alongside a single remix of “Jewel” remixed by Robert Smith himself, helped usher in a new legion of fans. These new gigs reunited the Shaws with original guitarist Mark Francombe as well as Paul Smith, who began recording with the band with 2001’s Future Songs album. These shows were special occasions through and through, with fans (including myself) traveling far and wide to attend. While the band was originally unsure what would be in store next, they seem to have rekindled the spark and reclaimed their stake in today’s robust scene. More live dates have been booked for 2024 in Leeds, London, Brussels, and Rotterdam, and a new reissue has been announced – this time unearthing Fuse, the band’s very first release and one of their deepest obscurities. Originally released on cassette in 1986 via Bite Back!, Fuse has been lovingly remastered at Abbey Road and will be reissued via the band’s own Dadaphonic imprint on April 5th of this year. Like the Peel Sessions release prior, this new edition of Fuse features artwork by Chris Bigg of V23, who originally helped design much of 4AD’s classic artwork over the years. To sweeten the pot, this beautiful new edition features “New Liberty,” a song recorded during these early sessions that has not been heard until now.

We had the immense pleasure of speaking to vocalist, guitarist, and bassist Alison Shaw about all of this activity. Check below for our conversation, as well as a full list of upcoming tour dates and Fuse reissue details…

~~~

Firstly, I just have to say it: WELCOME BACK! It’s really great that all these new gigs are popping up on the horizon. After years of radio silence, it really was so exciting to see this flurry of activity. What, what was the catalyst for getting back together? What got you thinking about it and what’s been fueling the fire so far? 

I guess it was the end of 2022 when, quite by chance, Jim and Matt (Cope) met up. Around the same time, Jason, who was our manager throughout the Dadaphonic years also got back in touch and told us that if there was any chance that we wanted to do something again, he’d help us. For the last ten years, it was the last thing on our minds, you know? We were all just doing other things in our lives. Somehow, things just fell into place. We all thought that we wanted to take it slowly, to see what happens. When we announced that first London show, we actually weren’t quite ready in our minds. We weren’t sure if we were able to do it, or if we really wanted to do it. But it went on sale and it sold out really quickly in a day and a half, and so we were like “oh my God, we’ve got to do it, we’re committed now.” It really was a good experience though. You were at the show, right? The audience was amazing! For us, it was a very happy show and it made us think that we might quite like to do some other shows.

Yeah, EartH is such a gorgeous venue and there was so much great energy in the room. It was a perfect fit! 

Yeah, exactly I think that was kind of a special evening for us all.

There aren’t a lot of bands out there like Cranes, so it’s great that you’re back in that sense. There was a big gap left in the scene when you left…

Yeah, our last record was in 2008. And I think our last gig was about 2012 or 13. So there’s been a long gap!

It seems like you just went dormant and life carried on for you all. Had people been asking for shows or for new material over the last decade? 

Well, when we went dormant, I also wasn’t connected to any social media at all for about ten years. I just couldn’t deal with it for one reason or another. I was vaguely aware that somebody out there was reissuing our records. It was the Music on Vinyl company in Holland, they’ve become good friends now and they’re really big fans of the band. They’ve reissued all our albums and they make really lovely vinyl editions. At the time though, I was only vaguely aware of this, but now I’ve kind of clipped my brain back into being doing Cranes stuff. We’re much more in touch with everything.

It’s been brilliant being back in touch with Mark (Francombe) again, because he was, as you know, he’s the original guitarist from the late 80s and early 90s. He’s been living a totally different life these days, because he lives in Oslo, in Norway. We’ve remained friends over all of these years, only seeing each other maybe once a year or something. But now we’re in contact every day, on the phone, or messaging or talking. He’s a very creative person and he helps with all the social media stuff.

So really, it’s weird. We’re just slowly motioning back into being a band again after such a long break, taking it at our own pace.

That’s great! And it’s great that Mark is so invested and so involved as well. So, these next batch of shows in the Spring, can you tell us a bit about those? 

Actually, we just announced another one in Brussels! It’s part of a really lovely festival called Botanique. We just announced we’re going to play there on April the 30th. There’s been a good response already for that one!

Will these upcoming shows still be part of the Forever anniversary celebration, or will you be doing a more varied set? 

To be honest, we haven’t decided yet! I think we might do more of a kind of a mixture, maybe a few songs from the Loved album, but we’re not quite sure yet.

Right, and Mark played on Loved as well, yes? That first era of the band with Mark and Matt on guitar and Jim on drums had quite a groove going throughout the nineties. But then you changed lineups and your sound evolved from there…

Yeah, Mark actually first played with us in 1988, I think. And then he left in 1997/1998, soon after the Population Four album. We did a long American tour for almost every album we did up until that point, but I think the last time we were there was for Future Songs in 2002.

Yeah, I was supposed to go to the NYC show back then, but I was nineteen at the time and couldn’t get in, sadly… I should have snuck in! So, I’d love to talk about the upcoming Fuse reissue. I was curious to hear about any great stories from the era. I’ve read a lot about the early days, recording in your garage and how Martin Hannett was one of the first people to have heard the Fuse recordings. It seemed like things really ramped up quickly for the band from there… 

Well, the Martin Hannett thing, that was kind of an isolated incident, because Fuse was only a cassette. It was the first thing that we released. Jim and I spent months working on it, literally day and night. We used to do it in shifts, and I would work in most of the daytime, and he would work most of the night. We were still developing our sound at that stage and we weren’t quite sure what we were doing! We were kind of experimenting and trying to find our own path. We did what we could given the time constraints. We weren’t sure, to be honest, if it was any good. We’d never released anything, we’d never had a review or anything like that. For some reason, we also decided that we didn’t want to send the cassette out to anyone. But Ian Binnington from Bite Back! heard that Martin Hannett was looking for unsigned bands, because there was potentially going to be a new TV show up in Manchester. So Ian sent him a tape with a lot of local Portsmouth bands on it. When he called Martin back a few weeks later, Martin wasn’t sure who he was, or who any of the bands were, but then he remembered our song from that demo tape. We were very, very honored.

Yeah, you never know who hears things or how music travels around, especially in the cassette culture days…It’s amazing you got that kind of feedback early on.

Yeah, after that we kind of went back to the drawing board for a couple of years. We weren’t playing live at that stage, it was just me and Jim in my dad’s garage that we turned into a little tiny studio with the drum kit and everything in there. It took us a good two or two-and-a-half years to come up with the Self Non Self material which, at the time, we felt was more our identity, our real identity if you know what I mean.

I tell you what, literally dozens of people have asked us to reissue the Fuse tape, and we’ve always said no because we just thought that it was just our very early thing – that it was just a tape and we were happy to let it stay that way. It’s taken us decades to consider it, and it was really because of Jason (White), who is also the manager at 4AD. He’s so in tune with music and has very good instincts. He said “listen to it again Ali, would you just listen to it again for me?”

Do you often listen back to your music, or? 

Not often, no. But I listened to it with fresh ears and I could see what he was talking about. It was so early for us, listening to it now I’m kind of taken back – how did we produce those sounds with such basic equipment!?

Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to ask you next! How DID you produce those sounds with just the bare bones guitar and drums setup that you had back then? There was a lot of sonic experimentation taking place in those early days. 

Yeah! Well one of the key things that we were we were using very early on was a tiny sampler pedal, which was a similar size and shape as a distortion pedal. It was one of the very first sampling instruments that you could buy that didn’t cost a zillion pounds, you know? Jim used that for some of the drum sounds and we also used it on the voice as a delay and echo thing. Other than that, it was just guitars and the way we played. Jim always dreamt that his first instrument would be the drums, but he also plays guitars and bass and cello and keyboards, and, you know, whatever else. He’s kind of a multi instrumentalist, I guess.

Great to have that in your back pocket!

Yeah that definitely helps! So, I think everything we’ve ever done emerges quite naturally. We just make sounds and then see if it elicits a response in either Jim or me. The things that we both instantly connect to – that’s what ends up being a Cranes song. If one or the other of us doesn’t get it, then it gets left behind.

So I guess that leaves it pretty wide open to create whatever feels right and whatever comes to mind. I can’t imagine the two of you back in the day carefully selecting and mimicking records over the years, trying to carve out your sound that way, as some bands do. It sounds like this has always been a very organic process for you.

Yeah. It was quite important for us not to sound like anyone else directly. We used to edit ourselves. Jim’s kind of obsessed with the idea – if anything sounds remotely like someone else he’ll get rid of it. We were fans of other people’s music at the time of course, but it was a key thing in Cranes, to choose our own path…

Well, that’s certainly what’s always appealed to me about your music – that you’ve done your own thing. There are definitely bands that you’re peers with, like Slowdive, who you played live with in the early nineties, or Chapterhouse, who you were label mates with. But really, when I got into the band in the late nineties – I had never heard anything like your music. It was so singular, so different, so eclectic, and I haven’t heard all that much out there that I feel the same way about. I’ve always appreciated that. With that in mind, from the early days of being in the garage to the electronic material you’d produce in the 2000s, how did your writing process evolve over the years?

Well, I guess there were two big musical shifts for us. The first shift was, when we first signed to Dedicated. We were able to buy some new equipment, and we bought keyboards, which Jim had always wanted. Up until that point, we’d never had a keyboard that could make string sounds and orchestral sounds and piano sounds. So that was a big shift for us. On Fuse and Self Non Self, there were no keyboards. Wings of Joy, Forever, and Loved were all recorded in the same studio in London, called Protocol Studios. It was the same studio where everyone at the time recorded, including The Sundays, or My Bloody Valentine, who were recording Loveless at the time. So many bands who were recording in the early nineties recorded there, and that place felt like our home, just off Holloway Road in North London.

The more electronic stuff that you you mentioned, that was our third phase, after the year 2000. The old version of Cranes had finished – we ceased to be around 1998. Mark left in 1997 and got married after we did that last tour in America, and we pretty much stopped for a good three years. We weren’t sure what we were going to do or if we were going to record again. But then Jim and I just got together, I guess because we’re brother and sister, it’s hard to split up completely…  I had been living in London at that time and during that break at the at the end of the 90s, I’d been doing some other stuff. I had a couple of ideas for some songs and I came back down to Portsmouth one day, and Jim had couple of ideas for some songs. We basically just started to write and we felt that there was the basis for some new material, and that’s when Future Songs started to come together.

I recall that you considered changing the name of the band, but at heart, it was still just you and Jim, so it still felt right to be a Cranes record. Is that the case?

Yeah, that’s kind of right. They are quite two sort of distinct phases of the band, I guess. But it’s still Jim and I at the center of it.

I mean, it’s not like the electronic material came out of the blue – there were hints of that direction on Population Four, La Tragedie D’Oreste et Electre, and a lot of the EP material from that era. Some more delicate moments, electronic touches, and so on. So while the early, chaotic nature of the band wasn’t present on Future Songs, it wasn’t a total 180, in my opinion, minus the lineup change. So now that the original catalogue has been reissued, is there any talk of reissuing the most recent trio of records, the ones on Dadaphonic? 

Well, we haven’t started on that project yet. But people are asking, you know, especially because those records weren’t originally released on vinyl. It’s a bit early for us at the moment, but it’s definitely possible!

Going back to the gigs you’ve been playing – once you were committed to doing the shows and were back in the rehearsal room, was the focus really just on the older material? Did you happen to do any writing, whether it was accidental or intentional? 

To be honest, it was a lot of the focus was on the Forever songs, because quite early on, people asking if we were going to play the entire album. There are several songs on the album which we’d never played live before..

Yeah! I remember you mentioned at the EartH show that one of the songs had never been performed before, though I can’t remember which it was…

It was “Sun and Sky” – I don’t think we’d ever played it before and I’m not sure why we hadn’t… It’s not a difficult bass line, but I guess because I’m playing it and singing at the same time, I guess we just didn’t have enough time back in the day to rehearse it properly. But this time, I had months to practice it, so I did, and it eventually came together. I think when we first met up to rehearse after not having played together with this lineup for thirty years, our first song was “EG Shining.” And you know, it sounded the same as it always did all those years ago, which was kind of nice.

That’s one of the first tracks Mark had played on, right? 

Yeah, and it was it was one of the first songs we ever wrote, to be honest. Even though it didn’t come out until we were signed, we did it early on at a Peel Session. It was written a couple of years before we recorded it and released it on the Espero EP. It was an original Cranes song, that was one our earliest moments together.

It was great hearing such an intense response to songs like that, as well as “Inescapable” and “Starblood” when you played them. Do you still feel a connection to that material, or was it just something from the past that you exhumed for these shows? How does it feel to play those songs again?

So, that’s the weird thing, if you’d asked me a year or two ago, I’m not sure if I could have played those songs or if it would feel right at this point in my life. That said, there’s something that happens when Jim’s on the drums. One of those key moments in our past was when Jim decided he didn’t want to play drums live at that stage, so he changed to guitar. We had two or three different drummers in the years from 2000-2008. They were all great drummers, but the drumming style of those later albums were different, and of course these drummers used more electronic drum kits and pads and things like that where you can have more control and make more interesting electronic sounds. The earlier tracks were all oriented around Jim’s drum sound. For me, playing these early tracks needed to have Jim Shaw on the drums in order to feel right. That’s what made authentic and believable for me – Jim on drums and Mark on guitar, with Matt joining us for early rehearsals. It really made me connect to the material again. Something was there that I can’t quite describe but makes the songs come alive again.

I hate to jump the gun or anything, but do you think you’ll do any writing together – or are you still taking it one day at a time?

Well, you never know, you never know… There’s some writing going on but I can’t really elaborate! *chuckles*

Well, since we’re hinting at some vague things here – what’s the scoop on returning to America? Is that something we can look forward to in the coming years?

Ahh, well, I can’t say much at the moment, but I’ll give you a hint. Just recently we have been offered something in America and it’s looking very positive…

Well, I accept that you can’t tell us more, but that’s very promising news! We’ll stay tuned for some more details on that, if and when the time is right! So, here’s a more open ended question – do you have a favorite moment throughout all the years you’ve been together as a band? 

Favorite moment? Well, I mean obviously the tour with The Cure was completely awesome for us. I remember especially on the American leg of that tour, I remember just being happy every day, like every moment of every day, driving from city to city and playing these incredible arenas and auditoriums and stadiums, even…

How did that come about – how were you first approached by the band?

Apparently, Robert, and Simon had heard the Wings of Joy album, and they liked it. We had an agent at the time, and I think that’s how they approached us. We met them around that time, they did a few warm up shows before the tour, playing in much smaller venues in the UK. They played in our local town hall, which is called the Guild Hall in Portsmouth. We were invited to the show, and that’s where we met the band and that’s when they invited us on the tour.

Well, it was a perfect match, and obviously they’ve invited you back regularly since then, for the Trilogy shows and some other one-offs over the years. It seems like the door is always open!

Well, they’ve been so amazing to us over the years. Every few years we’ll get a call. I’ve chatted to Robert a few times recently, over email, and he’s really supportive of what we’re doing now. They’ll always be a really important part of our journey.

I’m so glad it’s still be so positive over the years. It seems like it’s a lifelong friendship with the two of you, and some of the other bands they’ve been friends with over the years, like And Also the Trees… 

Yeah, he’s pretty amazing…as you might imagine.

So what else are you planning with the back catalogue at the moment? It was great to see you bring the Dadaphonic brand back into the mix…

Yeah, the Peel Sessions release that came out last year was also under Dadaphonic, and Fuse is going to be on vinyl and CD as well. We weren’t sure if people would want a CD, but people are still requesting it. We won’t do a huge amount of them, but it’s there if people want it.

Yeah, people come back around again when it comes to physical media. I mean, after growing up in the CD era, I’ve switched fully to vinyl and digital. I don’t miss having to pack and carry a CD wallet to take things with you, and really like having a lot of music at your fingertips these days, through all kinds of mediums and services. It’s great to see the back catalogue has been well cared for after all these years… How has streaming treated you? 

I think most of our catalogue is now streaming, which helps for people who haven’t discovered us or heard most of what we’ve recorded, even some of the more rare things like La Tragedie… For many years, we didn’t think anyone would be interested in all that stuff. But Jason’s really helped us to find that focus again.

What about the Inrain single you did with Rudy of A.R. Kane? Is that something people still ask about? 

Yeah, and actually, Rudy and I have stayed in touch over the years. Every few months we get together on the phone. We’ve had several people offer to reissue it for us, and I suppose we’re just waiting for the right moment there as well. He just did a really great A.R. Kane reissue box set and has a few other projects in the works, so perhaps we’ll see an Inrain reissue in the near future!

I love seeing bands reactivate on social media, to come out of a long slumber and just poke their heads out on social media, like you or A.R. Kane and maybe even Catherine Wheel are doing at the moment. As a fan, I always get extremely, almost scarily excited when this happens. I feel like Cranes were one of the last bands from my youth that I never had the chance to see over the years, and I’m glad you’re back. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say, and with so many bands reforming and having a second victory lap, so to speak. I hope it’s been great experience for you. 

Yeah, it certainly has. We’re taking it slowly but we’re really, really happy that people seem to be receiving the idea of us in a such a good way. We’ve always been flattered when people ask after all these years, but it never was the right moment until now. But really, we’re glad to be here! §

Cranes – Fuse LP/CD
1. Pillow Panther
2. Fuse
3. Valentine
4. Gas-Ring
5. Things That I Like
6. Wrench
7. Fracture
8. New Liberty (previously unreleased)

Order via Bandcamp (UK and US) and via Linktree

Cranes 2024 tour dates: 

• Tue April 30th – Brussels – Orangerie (Boutanique Festival)
• Thu May 2nd – Rotterdam – Maassilo
• Thu May 9th – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
• Sat May 11th – London – Islington Assembly Hall

Header photo by Phil Nicholls

The post Hopes Are High | A Conversation With Alison Shaw of Cranes appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The video, shot by Bryce Riedesel, evokes the perfect gothic ghost story, shot in an old, dimly lit mansion and featuring a series of unsettling characters. Mr. Watkins often can be spotted ominously plucking is trademark bass guitar while Mrs. Watkins’ roots in dance throw shapes and shadows across the dark and dusty decor. There’s a deeply haunting undercurrent throughout the video that is reflected perfectly in the song, which contrary to some of the band’s previous barn burner singles, is a more understated and heartbreaking affair. The track, which features some carefully strummed acoustic guitars, devastating drum patterns, and echo-dripping vocals, would fit right at home on an early Projekt Records compilation or a lovelorn mixtape from a forgotten era. Yet again, Coatie Pop offer up a stunningly fresh track that put them miles ahead of the modern pack.

Courtney Watkins offers a few words on the video and the history and significance of the location:

The post Haunting and Heartbreaking: New York Dream Pop Duo Coatie Pop Reach Into the Ether in “Embody” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Three new singles are dropping for the showcase, and the events will offer exclusive vinyl, skateboard decks, guitar effects pedals, posters, t-shirts, gifts, and more.

The fun kicks off on July 28th at The Coffin Club in Portland with Sex Park, Foliage, Mononegatives, and Lumari, as well as special guests and DJs. This is a free show.

• July 29th will showcase a Corey Duffel Adored Skateboards and Cal-Skate team meet-and-greet at Stronger Skatepark, with live music from the Dowd artists. Visual artist Tahiti Pehrson will have an opening, followed by an afterparty at The Vern…with Corey Duffel manning the DJ booth.
• July 30th will be a showcase event in Seattle at the Lo-Fi Performance Gallery. Four bands will be playing full sets, with special guest DJ Closer in the house.
• July 31st will take everyone to the Lay Low Tavern in Portland for an afternoon twist-n-play Scooter Club event with live performances from Foliage and Sex Park.

Sex Park, Foliage, Mononegatives, and Lumari are all releasing new singles for the showcase. You can hear three out of the four new singles below:

Sex Park – Without Reserve

Sex Park was formed in the winter of 2015/2016 by Daniel Blumenthal and Paul Burkhart, who were brought together by a mutual love of post-punk, synth pop, and 90’s dance music, as well as more modern forms like trap and grime. Guitarist Colin Buckley joined the band to accompany them on a West Coast tour to support Atrium, his elegant playing adding a dreamy new dimension to the band’s sound.

Sex Park’s upcoming full-length record (Dowd Records 2022) features the band exploring territory from Acid House to Italo Disco and even sampling opera, all while retaining their irresistible, distinctive synth-pop sound.

Mononegatives – Second Self

London, Ontario’s MONONEGATIVES deliver raw punk meets new wave/synth-punk with a high-anxiety modern-day ripping lo-fi punk sound. Their highly original and fascinating take on punk rock meets new wave is dark and discordant yet full of uplifting energy.

Mononegative’s debut LP, Apparatus Division, came out in late 2021 and immediately blew up beyond all expectations. It was covered by The Big Takeover, named Album of the Week by 50Thirdand3rd, and received rave reviews from every outlet that heard the album, and the vinyl sold out in a day.

The first single from the forthcoming second LP from Mononegatives shows them pushing their songwriting and guitar riff-age to new levels to create one of the best Mononegatives songs yet – “Second Self.”

New Exit In Shards will be released to streaming on the same day as the Dowd Records showcase and will also be pressed on limited edition vinyl.

Lumari – Neon Mirror

Lumari is an American dream pop/shoegaze band based in Minneapolis, MN. Boasting shimmering guitar textures to beautifully soaring vocals, they’re determined to carve out their own path blurring the lines between multiple genres. Even before performing their first show, Lumari is breaking through the noise with an urgency that has already caught the attention of record labels from three continents.

Read more about the events here.

Follow DOWD Records:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube

The post Dowd Records Showcase Featuring the Synthpop, Post-Punk, and Dream Pop of Sex Park, Foliage, Mononegatives, and Lumari! appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Somewhere, lost in the fog, lies Ships in the Night, a project helmed by Alethea Leventhal. A beacon of light in an otherwise murky sea, Leventhal has been releasing passionate, synth-drenched dream pop for half a decade now, most recently recording a trail of one-off singles while simultaneously crafting a follow-up record to 2017’s excellent Myriologues. Finally, as the Autumn chill is starting to permeate the air, Leventhal has unveiled a new single, the first from sophomore record Latent Powers, due out on October 27th via Cleopatra. Strap on a pair of headphones, open the windows wide, and watch the video for “First Light” below.

The track begins with an ominous synth line that gives immediate space for Leventhal’s lullaby-laden vocal melodies, which channel endless beauty and a welcome dose of optimism throughout the opening verse and chorus. A slow, syrupy electronic beat creeps in gently before the track suddenly (and pleasantly) morphs into a full italo-inspired dance workout, chock full of arpeggiated synths and driving percussion, all the while retaining its otherworldly atmosphere. The track ends as it began, with a celestial synth note ringing into the ether.

The video for “First Light” was conceived by Leventhal and Aaron Farrington, the latter who filmed and directed the piece. Visuals have always been a strong component of Ships in the Night’s image, and the video delivers in spades, beginning with a swirl of mist and shadowplay and culminating in a series of purple hues and kaleidoscopic reflections as the track builds and widens.  Leventhal is joined by a series of striking characters in animal masks, surrounding her among the shadows as she performs.

The “First Light” single is now available via Bandcamp. The single also features a remix of the track that plays up the dark disco elements of the track even further and is worth price of admission alone. Otherwise, check below for the artwork, track listing, and pre-order links for Latent Powers.

Ships in the Night – Latent Powers
1. First Light
2. When I Was Found
3. Lost Times
4. Sun One
5. The Fire
6. It Goes Down
7. Last Days
8. Phantom IV
9. The Killing Moon
10. When I Was Found (Reprise)

Pre-order CD/LP
Pre-order digital
Follow Ships in the Night on Instagram and Facebook

The post Ships in the Night Offers a Taste of Ethereal Beauty in “First Light” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Given the band’s name, one could be forgiven for assuming that Lorelei K’s primary influence is the Cocteau Twins, vis a vis the Cocteau Twins’ “Lorelei” song off that band’s 1984 Treasure LP on 4AD. But that’s only somewhat right. As singer Dahlia notes in our interview below, the choice of her band’s name reflects an encounter with a primary source of the Lorelei legend—that is, Dahlia’s encounter at age 16 with the statue of the famous Lorelei aquatic siren on the banks of the Rhine in Germany.

And yet—the Cocteau Twins, still, really aren’t a bad place to start when discussing the shimmering and immersive vibes that do flow, fluidly, from the music of Lorelei K; and this is seen in full effect on their upcoming “Swimming Pool Eternity” album. I was privileged to get an early digital copy of the LP, and it is indeed hard to assign it neatly to any single genre: On display are elements of ethereal wave, dream pop, and some more straightforward postpunk tunes. It’s a solid 7-track album, and the LP’s entirety amounts to a well-rounded, captivating, listening experience. In fact, on repeated listens—and the LP does lend itself easily to repeated listens—I’ve come to think of the “Swimming Pool Eternity” LP as something like a musical sapphire—blue and sparkling, like the gemstone itself, and also deeply blue like the watery inspirations behind Dahlia’s concept for the band, but still fluid—maybe like a liquescent sapphire that shimmers as it’s melted into a purely liquid azure—like a musical sea of liquid cerulean crystal. And like a sapphire, too, every song on the LP seems to constitute a different facet or side of its cohesive and gem-like whole—that is, the LP is like one whole gem that features various glistening fascia, but which nonetheless combines at its solid center to form one lapidary and lush aural object.

There are elements of dreampop, shoegaze, straight-ahead postpunk, and darkwave on the LP. Dahlia describes the LP’s songs as “dreamscapes,” and it’s hard to argue with that description. The band is releasing the “St. Groupie” single off the album on Friday, August  6, with a special show in Denton, Texas, at Andy’s.

But it’s best to go to the source (Dahlia K) for more info on the upcoming singles and LP, and so that’s what we did:

Lorelei K was interviewed for post-punk.com in late July 2021

First things first: Who all is in Lorelei K, and when and where did the band start?

Dahlia Knowles (vocals): There’s a total of five of us in the group. We have Rex Davis on bass, Mills Chaiken playing guitar and synth, Michael Briggs on synth and backing vocals, Dean Adams on drums, and of course, myself, performing lead vocals. When this core band formed, I briefly considered renaming the project Lorelei and the K-Holes, just for the camp of it. All of my band members live in Denton, Texas. I live in Old East Dallas.

About the name—who chose it? I like the legends behind the idea of the “Lorelei”—watery vamps, sort of, like the sirens that sang to Ulysses on his ocean voyage. Am I on the right track, thinking that? And yet, the band’s name is “Lorelei K”—what is that K for?

Dahlia K: I found the name Lorelei at sixteen. I was at the Rhine in Germany when I saw the dark and shining siren sitting at the top of a steep hill, ducking her head as if, instead of peering out, she was looking inward. That long hair that lured men to wreck their ships in their lustful state, slick and waving down her spine, her likeness in a statue by her dominion.

Like those men at sea, I was seduced by the name—the way it felt on the tongue, so easy. I knew early on that my first chief project had to honor this mythic girl, and it stuck. The “K” in Lorelei K used to represent my last name. Now I think of it as a sound, a punctuation.

I notice your upcoming LP on Idol Records is called SWIMMING POOL ETERNITY, and given the history of Lorelei being the watery, “seductively dangerous” feminine entity that brings folks to a watery death, to me the LP title has a darkly comic effect, referencing not an ocean, but a swimming pool. Was that intended?

Dahlia K: Yes, and I’m glad you picked up on this angle. I’ve referenced a dark, personal mythology throughout my discography thus far. I’ve built Lorelei a universe with lore, and it’s expanding still. The swimming pool is also a personal life reference, giving a geographical location to a place lost in time, with company that is now gone. The starlet in this record is a heartbroken girl. I guess the starlet is kind of always a heartbroken girl, actually. I’m always finding something to be sad and feel sexy about.

Dahlia K: Another thought on the swimming pool thing—it’s a metaphor for the complex water we swim in when we are opening ourselves to love. Maybe Lorelei is a siren and her rock is a lifeguard stand at a public pool. Maybe she’s there peering out at all of the memories that summer brings to her. Sticky sunscreen days of childhood, or dancing in the water with her first love. It’s a contained space for archived nostalgia.

From the first track in, it seems there’s a lot of attention paid to atmosphere. The first track’s drumming has an almost martial ring to it, which I immediately loved. Otherwise, there is a very vibe-y, almost Cocteau Twins-y feel to some of this — was that intended? What were the sound goals with this LP?

Dahlia K: The goal with this LP was to push the boundaries of what looks like a rock outfit. I’ve had this combination of words stuck in my head the whole time we’ve been making this record — it’s a glamorous burnout. Songs like “Saint Groupie” and “Swimming Pool Eternity” were intended to be cutting, colliding, and expansively dark, while other tracks like “Breakthrough” and “Blue Part Four” were considerably more paired down, romantic, sentimental. Atmosphere is always very important to me, I love anything that gives a song a space. I feel like Michael really added a lot with his synth layers and backing vocals that really expanded things.

These songs are all dreamscapes, which seems to be the throughline from Lightbender to SPE.

Dahlia K: I also will always have a deep, passionate love for dripping wet, layered lead vocals. I can barely listen to my own voice dry. I just like that when I sing, I can close my eyes and feel like my feet are no longer on the ground, and in the air my voice is traveling through endless variations of reverb, delay, echo and the like. Maybe eventually I’ll buck up and do the opposite, just to see what happens, but for now I’m sticking to what makes me feel good.

Who all composes the music and is produced as a band, or is it collaborative? Do you primarily write the lyrics? How would you describe or explain the actual songwriting process…?

Dahlia K: Michael Briggs at Civil Audio has always been my producer, ever since our Holy Holding LP in 2016. All Lorelei K’s lyrics are written by me. The music is definitely collaborative, especially on Swimming Pool Eternity. I come in with a basic structure and concept of a track, then Rex, Mills, and Dean all take their turns contributing massively influential ideas. They really are so brilliant.

If you HAD to assign LORELEI K to a genre—and most bands hate this question, because no one likes pigeonholed, and I get it—what would it be? darkwave? Ethereal? Dreampop? Post Punk? Atmospheric goth? Just curious. Every song on the LP does have a different vibe, to me, so I can see y’all crossing over some (imaginary) genre lines.

Dahlia K: I like floating above genre, which everyone in any band ever will say. When I’m in the studio, I’m never really concerning myself with where we fit in. Typically in conversation, I refer to my music as darkwave, alternative pop, or post punk. Sometimes I wish I could call it shoegaze. Generally, I like to keep it vague.

There are some songs with titles like “Breakthrough at Mt Zion,” and “The New Psalms,” that reference almost Biblical stuff. Is there something to this theme you thing conveys some message or idea, or feeling, you’re trying to impart via the songs? What is the story behind the song “New Psalms”? (Unfortunately I don’t have the lyrics – just curious!)

Dahlia K: While I’m one of many southern LGBT people to have undergone religious trauma as an adolescent, the biblical references placed on Swimming Pool really have nothing to do with that. Like I previously mentioned, there is a lore that I’ve built in my writing for Lorelei… in the song “Lightbender,” I wrote a lot about purity of form and falling from grace. In “The New Psalms” the woman is a mortal and has no reservations about being flawed and being open. It’s written for the audience, with lines like “I know that someday each and every one of us fades into obscurity / I just hope that somewhere I said something to somebody who carries it sacred within their heart.” In the end she is (I am) concerned with what a song can contribute to someone’s life, and if loneliness is the cost of creating that world for somebody else, even just for three to five minutes, then it’s a willful sacrifice. I like big, dramatic titles that create an epic feeling, and can develop multiple meanings depending on how you look at it.

The musicianship generally on this LP is remarkable. Everyone sounds like they know their stuff, and the production is very “immersive.” Maybe the name of the group and the LP title make me think this, but there’s even a kind of “oceanic” feel of ebb and flow and liquid immersion. What are the backgrounds of everyone musically, and was there an attempt to make an immersive LP with this?

Dahlia K:I know that Dean and Mills both have experience at the University of North Texas with extended musical training. Rex has played in multiple punk bands. Michael of course has tons of experience as a sound engineer, but this is one of his only active projects as a contributing musician.

The theme of water and the ocean is present in a lot of songs in my discography, but I agree that it’s more present than ever here in this set of songs. I’m really proud of the boys and what each of them has brought to the pool.

Dahlia, have you had professional vocal teaching? Who are your vocal influences, and who do you admire as far as vox and songwriting generally?

Dahlia K: I have seen Sarah Ruth Alexander in the past for vocal training. I admire Joanna Newsom, Beth Gibbons, Patti Smith, and Elliott Smith. I always think about athletics when I sing, and boys, and my past. I’ve tossed many letters I’ve started writing to Patti Smith. Her approach to reading and writing, her raw voice, and her singular energy has always enthralled me.

Do you (Dahlia) write poetry (or prose, or anything) generally outside the band? If so, what? And what is your background, otherwise, musically if any?

Dahlia K: I write consistently, but I still feel like I’m learning how to create a solid piece of text that does not involve music. I do not have an academic approach to writing. I would love to publish a book of poetry, and maybe a memoir, someday when I’m older.

I started piano lessons when I was seven, and went on to participate in choir, band and theater as I grew up. My brother and I grew up learning different instruments together; that was a bond that has lasted into adulthood.

You recently signed to Idol Records. When will the LP come out? Vinyl, digital, CD, all of the above, some of the above?

Dahlia K: We are so honored to be signed with Idol. We are beginning the release cycle with a series of digitally released singles. We are looking at early Spring 2022 for a digital release of the record, then it will be pressed on vinyl.

Where can folks go to get more info on LORELEI K? Websites, Bandcamp, etc.?

Dahlia K: lorelei-k.bandcamp.com – merch coming soon!

Lorelei K is active on Instagram and Twitter @l0releik.

Lorelei K have a Facebook page HERE.
Lorelei K also have a Bandcamp page HERE

The post Dreampop Heroes Lorelei K announce new single, LP on Idol Records appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The track is slow, determined, yet tethered to the ethereal with Alethea Leventhal’s dreamy, breathy vocals. Leventhal is also active as Ships in the Night, operating in a similar swirly sphere. The Harrow draws inspiration from bands such as Lycia, The Cure, Massive Attack, Cocteau Twins, Cranes, and the 4AD family. Leventhal’s Lynchian lyrics are simple, direct and earnest, gorgeously grounding the heady journey through the veil. 

In the windings
and the bindings of our dimension
we drift and survive

Beyond Stars was born from a late afternoon recording session in mid-2019, during a wildly tumultuous period in songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Frank Deserto’s life: “I’ve had quite a few demons and doubts kicking around over the last few years, and it felt due time to exorcise them,” he says. “It took most of this last year to put the pieces back together and find any sort of footing, but ‘Beyond Stars’ is an attempt for us to rekindle our love of making music and to channel some beauty back into the world.”

The Harrow are currently working on their next EP with producer Xavier Paradis (Automelodi), due out in 2021. “Beyond Stars” finds the band carving out spaces in the avant-garde spheres as they orchestrate a mesmerizing array of swirling guitars, throbbing bass, and heavenly vocals. Frequent collaborator Josh Strawn (Vain Warr, Azar Swan, Blacklist) also makes a cameo on sax at the halfway mark, taking the already haunting track right into the stratosphere.

Deserto initially conceived The Harrow in 2013. Joined by Bell Hollow guitarist Greg Fasolino, the initial lineup of the band released an EP, several singles, and the acclaimed Silhouettes album in 2015 on German imprint aufnahme+wiedergabe. After a lineup shift in 2019, the band now includes John Forester on guitars and synths with Leventhal on vocals. The new lineup, while centralized in New York, is a perfect pandemic collaboration, as Leventhal is located in Virginia.  

A gentle, yet powerful start to a new year, a new horizon, and new opportunities. The best is yet to come.

And I’ll meet you,
where light bends
You can find me,
where stars end

Photo of Alethea by Mags Design
Cover photo by Greg Fasolino 

The post The Harrow Rings In The New Year With the Swirling, Ethereal “Beyond Stars” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The track expands on the original version’s slithering, celestial soundscape, layering deep synth melodies, shimmering guitars, and throbbing bass and making delicious use of space, movement, and echo. The track ripens over the course of six-and-a-half minutes (just a few seconds shy of the original), with no groove wasted and no texture left unexplored. As such, the track is the perfect blend of both projects, a match made in aural heaven.

Chasms are also set to resume their tour this week, appearing in Chicago, Montreal, and New York, among other cities. A handful of dates will find the band performing with Choir Boy, while the majority of the shows will also feature labelmate Devon Church, touring behind 2018’s haunting We Are Inextricable. Check below for the full list of dates.

Chasms Tour Dates
05.24 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ~
05.25 Indianapolis, IN @ Pioneer Indy (Spellbound) ~
05.26 Pittsburgh, PA @ Roboto ~
05.28 Toronto, ON @ The Baby G #
05.29 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB #
05.30 Boston, MA @ Great Scott #
05.31 Greenfield, MA @ Root Cellar
06.01 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere ~

The post Listen to Public Memory’s Cavernous, Dubbed-Out Take on Chasms’ “Shadow” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Bethany Curve (who also made our top 100 dream pop roundup earlier this year), were at the peak of their powers in the early 2000s, releasing the reverb-drenched Flaxen in 2003 before vanishing without much of a trace. Since then, the band has taken time to recalibrate and craft their sixth release, kicking off with lead-track “Frontier,” which was released via Soundcloud in mid-November. Murder! is slated to be released on CD and digital formats on January 18th, 2019, with the LP release to follow in February. Each track on the record is a reflective meditation on dreaming, pieced together through the band’s surrealist soundscape and Richard Millang’s passionate lyrics, which have already been printed in full on the band’s website.

“I dream vividly and often. Each song on this record was inspired by a dream.”

– Richard Millang

“Dreamland” starts with a stunningly strummed chord, quickly settling into a shuffling ethereal groove. Millang’s honey-dripped vocals haven’t aged in the slightest, as soaring and passionate as ever. The track shifts into a start-stop mantra, layering in Lisa Dewey’s backup vocals, and capturing that intoxicating feeling of waking suddenly before drifting off again.

You can listen to “Dreamland” above, and check below for the full release details for Murder!

Bethany Curve- Murder!
1. I’m Alive
2. Dreamland
3. Frontier
4. Wake Up!
5. Lust
6. Miss Displacement
7. Glory
8. She Died
9. Cruiser
10. The Solution

Purchasing details to follow via Bethany Curve website and Facebook page.

The post Bethany Curve Premiere “Dreamland” and Announce First Record in Fifteen Years appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The sessions, recorded soon after the band’s relocation to LA in late 2017, were cut in one afternoon by Claire Morison and mixed shortly thereafter. The set includes four top-shelf recordings of key tracks from 2016’s On the Legs of Love Purified (one of our top 100 dream pop releases), and begins with exclusive ambient swell “Touched.” These renditions are even more powerful, hard-hitting, and devastating than their LP counterparts, a true testament to vocalist and guitarist Jess Labrador and bassist Shannon Sky Madden’s command of the sonic space. Industrial-drenched production and deep synth and bass grooves are perfectly offset by Labrador’s ethereal melodies, forever occupying the space where fever dreams become beautiful nightmares.

Fans of physical media can purchase a cassette of the sessions, limited to 100 copies. All tracks are currently available via streaming services, as well. Feel free to enjoy the Spotify embed above, and check out purchasing details below:

Chasms- Part Time Punks Session
1. Touched
2. Black Ice
3. Come to Harm
4. Intimacy
5. We’ll Go

purchase digital/cassette via Bandcamp.

Photo by Jess Garten

The post Chasms Unveil New Part Time Punks Session EP appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Firstly, I’d like to thank resident experts Amber Crain (When the Sun Hits) and Greg Fasolino (The Harrow, Bell Hollow) for helping through every step of the process, from whittling down a list of nearly 200 releases over a series of loving debates, passionately defending and suggesting alternate choices, and most importantly, for their help in writing many of the blurbs below.

As the line between shoegaze and dream pop is flimsy at best, we decided to set a few ground rules to help guide our selection process. By design, we decided to steer as clear from pure shoegaze as we could. As such, some of the noisier bands on the spectrum (Starflyer 59, Medicine, Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel) were left off. The same rule held true for bands like Curve, whose electronic cacophony didn’t feel quite-so-dreamy, as vital as it may be. Lastly, while indie-pop often flirted with the same textures and shared a similar set of influences, opening the door to the genre felt equally inaccurate (though we adore Black Tambourine, The Field Mice, Blueboy, and Heavenly as much as anyone).

We also made the difficult decision to limit ourselves to one release per artist. While it’s easy to place five Cocteau Twins records in the top 10 alone, it was a rewarding challenge to settle on our collective favorite album across the board, or at least, the one that stands out as the clear genre staple. Our goal in turn is to shed some light on both genre masterpieces as well as some underrated gems. Instead of ranking these in order of preference, they are simply listed chronologically, as is our Spotify playlist, which can be found just below for those listening at home.

With that in mind, we do hope you enjoy our list – please do feel free to share, discuss, and pick things apart in the comments as much as you see fit!

1. Not Drowning, Waving- Another Pond (Rampart Releases, 1984)
Our first entry on this list is an unsuspecting and extremely underrated one, released a few years before the genre was “officially” coined, but no less deserving of inclusion. This Australian band combined sparse washes of synthesizer, delicately rambling piano melodies, churning post-punk guitars, fretless bass, and ghost-ridden vocals, and the results are as ephemeral as they are stunning.
-Frank Deserto

2. The Wake- Here Comes Everybody (Factory, 1985)
Often dismissed as a Joy Division/New Order clone (depending on which record you consider), Scotland’s The Wake layer bright lines over reverb-drenched production, writing a series of perfect pop songs that would inform much of the Captured Tracks roster over 30 years later. Lose yourself in the warmth of “O Pamela,” sway in the warm spring breeze of “Melancholy Man,” or let the title track bring out the hopeless romantic buried even in the deepest reaches of your heart.
-FD

3. Felt- Ignite the Seven Cannons (Cherry Red, 1985)
In a category all their own, Felt’s flirtation with introspective popstar success never quite projected the band into the stratosphere, but their influence sent shockwaves across the indie scene that can still be felt to date. Their fourth record features the sublime “Primitive Painters,” their most successful track to date, complete with the soaring vocals of Elizabeth Frasier. Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie also provides his trademark production, which was recently stripped for a 2018 reissue of the album. We tend to prefer those syrupy textures, but either way you slice it, Felt were on the top of their game.
-FD

4. Dif Juz- Extractions (4AD, 1985)
One of 4ADs most underrated bands also received the magic touch of Guthrie and Frasier, adding their telltale sense of beauty and wonder to the band’s debut album. Extractions expanded on a series of incredible EPs, offering a delicate balance of breezy jazz textures and avant-garde expressions, with just the right amount of melancholy to keep the band from floating away entirely.
-FD

5. The Chameleons- Strange Times (Geffen, 1986)
Choosing a favorite Chameleons record is like choosing your favorite child – a true exercise in futility. However, the Manchester quartet’s third record is arguably their dreamiest, trading in much of their early angst while swinging for the fences with a tremendous collection of songs. Album centerpiece “Swamp Thing” is both their most complex and epic track to date, and the heart swells with every grandiose sweep. The serpentine “Soul in Isolation” explores the opposite side of the emotional spectrum with similar attention to detail, while both “Tears” and “In Answer” continue the band’s knack for capturing childlike innocence in the span of a perfect pop song.
-FD

6. A.R. Kane- When You’re Sad 12’’ (One Little Indian, 1986)
In just a few short years, the unpredictable and under-celebrated A.R. Kane would release a string of EPs that not only officially cemented dream pop as we know it (the band is also responsible for coining the term), but would also break down all rules and trappings of everything that came before. Hard to imagine that just one year later, the band would blow the roof of the club scene with “Pump Up the Volume” as half of M/A/R/R/S, while at the same time, chasing forgotten ghosts across a string of essential 12’’ releases.
-FD

7. Lowlife- Diminuendo (Nightshift Records, 1987)
Fully shedding their psychobilly roots and taking heavy cues from The Chameleons, Lowlife hit their stride with their second album, a treatise of shimmering guitar lines, low synth swirls, and the driving bass of ex-Cocteau Twins bassist Will Heggie, grounded perfectly by the late Craig Lorentson’s honey-dipped croon. It’s easy to get lost in the thick atmosphere, but underneath the textures are a set of unforgettable songs that are introspective and somber without falling prey to self-pity.
-FD

8. Breathless- Three Times and Waving (Tenor Vossa Records, 1987)
After establishing their compelling style of ethereal rock on 1986 debut The Glass Bead Game, Breathless further refined the sound on its elegant follow up, Three Times and Waving. While the soft echoes of post-punk romanticism à la Cocteau Twins and The Chameleons can be heard here, the group’s moody, haunting soundscapes and Dominic Appleton’s poignant vocal performances are simply too distinctive to be subject to comparisons. Songs like “Into the Fire” and “Waiting on the Wire” highlight the band’s enthralling ability to go from fragile to ominous to soaring in the space of a single song.
-Amber Crain

9. Hugo Largo- Drum (Relativity, 1987)
Formulated as a unique attempt to make art-pop without the tyranny of guitar and drum clichés, Manhattan’s wonderfully eccentric Hugo Largo used a spacious tapestry of drones – Hahn Rowe’s violin and the terrific counterpoint basses of Tim Sommer and Adam Peacock – to set the stage for the crystalline, almost-Björklike faerie-chants of Mimi Goese. Call Drum the chamber music of dream pop if you will, but be humbled when you hear the siren song of “Second Skin” and Kinks cover “Fancy.”
-Greg Fasolino

10. For Against- December (Independent Project Records, 1988)
For Against may hail from Lincoln, Nebraska, but their sound was distinctly British. Following early, more Factory-influenced material and the terrific Echelons debut, 1988’s superlative December crystallized this band’s approach – sprightly bass and drums providing a busy backdrop for a flower-filled field of endless chiming guitars and uber-wistful vocals. For Against had dream pop hooks galore (see “Paperwhites”, “Stranded in Greenland”) but could chill your heart as well, as on the immensely bittersweet and glacial title dirge.
-GF

11. The House of Love- The House of Love (Creation Records, 1988)
From the celestial opening guitar shimmer, the honeyed double-tracked harmonies, and sonnet-worshipping lyrics of “Christine,” The House of Love’s debut album launches out of the gates as a force to be reckoned with. Taking heavy cues from ’60s psychedelia and folk, the band would drag dream pop consciousness further into the mainstream, opening the door for even bigger commercial successes to follow.
-FD

12. The Pollen- Contrasts (Danceteria, 1988)
The Pollen may be rather unknown compared to many of the bands on this list, but their debut album, produced by The Sound’s Adrian Borland, toed the line between the budding French coldwave movement and the prevalent indie-folk sound that saturated much of the softer side of the spectrum. Never before has folk-tinged guitar music sounded so powerful.
-FD

13. Area- The Perfect Dream (C’est La Mort, 1988)
Dark, rhythmic waves of warm synth, dreamily plucked guitar, and dry, hard-hitting drum machines make up the perfect backdrop for Lynn Canfield’s sultry multi-layered vocals. Their third record is their brightest and most majestic work, drawing heavily on 4AD’s ethereal atmosphere and adding a slew of midwestern folk and Americana influences.
-FD

14. Heavenly Bodies- Celestial (Third Mind Records, 1988)
Heavenly Bodies were a super group of sorts, consisting of three 4AD alumni. Vocalist Caroline Seaman is best known today as a vocalist on This Mortal Coil’s Filigree and Shadow, while Scott Rodger served as a member of Dead Can Dance on their earlier post-punk releases. Not to be left out, percussionist James Pinker was a member of industrial collective SPK, performed on Dead Can Dance’s sophomore album Spleen and Ideal, and recorded with Michael Brook and Jane Siberry, amongst other notable collaborations. Credentials aside, the band’s lone album contains aural traces of each of the above artists, one minute flirting with avant-ghetto passages and the next swinging for the dancefloor with the infectious “Rains on Me.”
-FD

15. Galaxie 500- On Fire (Rough Trade, 1989)
Galaxie 500 have always conveyed so much emotion with an extremely minimal sonic palate. A series of softly strummed, glacial lullabies make up the majority of the band’s sophomore release, building ever-so-slightly but never fully giving into chaos. As such, On Fire walks a similar line as The Velvet Underground’s third record – a transcendent, yet narcotic listen. “Blue Thunder,” “Another Day,” and “Decomposing Trees” are among the album’s many hazy highlights, offering liquid guitar solos, reverb-soaked horns, hefty percussion, and sweetly sour vocal harmonies.
-FD

16. Shelleyan Orphan- Century Flower (Rough Trade, 1989)
Employing an array of carefully considered strings, Shelleyan Orphan’s brand of dream pop would have sounded right at home even a hundred years earlier. The band enjoyed cult success after touring with The Cure (drummer Boris Williams and guitarist Pearl Thompson would join following the Wish tour), but even more notably, vocalist Caroline Crawley would also contribute vocals to This Mortal Coil’s third and final record. On their sophomore record however, Shelleyan Orphan achieved not only a masterpiece of exquisite chamber pop, but also enjoyed a bit of MTV airplay with opening track “Shatter.”
-FD

17. Bel Canto- Birds of Passage (Crammed Discs, 1989)
Perhaps the true heart of the genre, Bel Canto’s first three records are pinnacles of the dream pop movement, a perfect storm that built on the groundwork that Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, and even Depeche Mode laid down just a few years prior. Layering lush synths, ethereal vocals, and crisp electronic production, Bel Canto struck a successful balance between gloomy atmosphere, industrial texture, outsider instrumentation, and sheer pop perfection on their sophomore record.
-FD

18. Julee Cruise- Floating Into the Night (Warner Bros., 1989)
It’s often impossible to separate Julee Cruise’s inimitable voice from the hazy world of Twin Peaks, but as the story goes, it was This Mortal Coil’s trailblazing cover of “Song to the Siren” that jump started David Lynch’s fascination with Cruise. While he couldn’t afford to use This Mortal Coil’s flagship song in Blue Velvet, he instead pieced together “Mysteries of Love” with Angelo Badalamenti, with Cruise’s otherworldly vocals at the forefront of the piece. The collaboration proved to be extremely fruitful, as the trio would work together for two albums and across several entries in the Lynch universe. Many of these unforgettable songs appear on this record, but even the exclusives tap into the same achingly nostalgic universe.
-FD

19. Ride- Nowhere (Creation, 1990)
An enduring masterpiece, Nowhere is the aural distillation of blooming youth, radiant hope and pure energy. Catchy pop songs like “Vapour Trail” and “Taste” are easy to love, and even the album’s darkest moments, like the psych-tinged headtrip “Decay” and the title track, are buoyed by classic rock structures, sparkling guitar and killer hooks. “Dreams Burn Down,” “In a Different Place” and the beautifully surreal “Polar Bear” are eternal gems that remain deeply embedded in the DNA of shoegaze and dream pop.
-AC

20. Cocteau Twins- Heaven or Las Vegas (4AD, 1990)
Arguably their magnum opus, Cocteau Twins were already on the top of their game for several years running by the time they released their sixth full-length record, their last for 4AD. It marks a latter-day peak in the band’s career as well as a dividing line, propelling the band further into alternative subconscious and employing both the catchiest set of tunes and the most intelligible lyrics Elizabeth Fraser would sing to date, mainly inspired by the birth of daughter Lucy Belle. The sweeping title track aside, the album’s bookends are chock full of slow, burning embers that wrap the rest of the record up in a shimmering, finespun bow.
-FD

21. Mazzy Star- She Hangs Brightly (Rough Trade, 1990)
Mazzy Star’s debut is a truly transitional record, still occasionally dripping with the psychedelic blues-driven remnants of The Rain Parade and Opal, with a handful of the songs originally penned while still operating under the latter moniker. While Opal performed with Hope Sandoval for their final tour, this record was the world’s first true taste of her syrupy, muted vocals, an unsuspecting influence that Lana Del Rey would wear on her sleeve many years later. Opening track “Halah” sets the stage for one of the most romantic records set to tape, and their cover of Slapp Happy’s “Blue Flower” remains the definitive take on the song.
-FD

22. Kitchens of Distinction- Strange Free World (One Little Indian, 1990)
Emerging in the late 1980s after the original post-punk flares had burned out and C86 had faded, but before shoegaze really took off, Kitchens of Distinction seemed like perennial outsiders, never really fitting in with their own time period. Second album Strange Free World was so good, however, that it earned rave notices anyway. Guitarist Julian Swales was a revelation, his almost cinematic explorations recalling predecessors like The Chameleons, Bunnymen, and For Against and acting as the perfect foil for the deeply heartfelt sepia-tinged vocals of Patrick Fitzgerald. Gems like “Quick as Rainbows,” “Drive that Fast,” and “Railwayed” turned ears and made hearts tremble.
-GF

23. The Sundays- Reading, Writing, And Arithmetic (Rough Trade, 1990)
An unexpected critical and commercial success upon its 1990 release, the terrific debut by The Sundays was often described as a cross between The Smiths and Cocteau Twins – not unreasonably so. The music was instantly distinctive, especially in contrast to other dream pop bands. Clean, ringing guitar by David Gavurin wound in unusual reverbed curlicue patterns, backed by spare bass and drums, setting up a bravura performance by vocalist Harriet Wheeler of equal parts whimsy, petulance and radiance. “Here’s Where the Story Ends” was the monster hit, but deeper tracks like “Can’t Be Sure,” “Skin & Bones,” and closer “Joy” are among its many pleasures.
-GF

24. This Mortal Coil- Blood (4AD, 1991)
Though it doesn’t receive as many accolades as its predecessors, the third and final This Mortal Coil album is just as stunning as their previous offerings, and is perhaps even more focused upon further reflection. The formula hasn’t changed: a series of textured covers of dusty ’60s folk tracks still nestle cozily alongside dream-like original passages, all orchestrated by 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell and producer John Fryer. Guest contributors this time around include Shelleyan Orphan’s Caroline Crawley, Breeders powerhouses Tanya Donelly and Kim Deal, former Xymox stalwart Pieter Nooten, and of course, Breathless’ singular vocalist Dominic Appleton.
-FD

25. The Ocean Blue- Cerulean (Sire, 1991)
The Ocean Blue’s sophomore album is every bit as cozy as it is bright, offering their most deliciously atmospheric slices of pop perfection to date. Album centerpiece “Mercury” is the perfect hybrid of The Wild Swans’ springy jangle-pop and Cocteau Twins’ manic bliss, while single “Ballerina Out of Control,” tugs gingerly at the heartstrings, with a chorus that is impossible to resist.
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26. Slowdive- Just For a Day (Creation, 1991)
While Souvlaki may receive the lion’s share of the credit, Slowdive’s first album is no slouch, either. Expanding on their early EPs and boasting classic single “Catch the Breeze,” Just For a Day is a dark, cavernous listen that pulls heavily at the heartstrings, with a painstakingly beautiful sense of dread churning just below the surface. While the album may not have as many standout tracks as what would follow, there’s a sense of unity and a statement of purpose on display that makes it a perfect autumnal listen.
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27. The Innocence Mission- Umbrella (A&M Records, 1991)
On the more delicate, introspective side of the spectrum, the Innocence Mission excelled at carving out a niche for ethereal-tinged folk. Umbrella finds the band pursuing both dreamier textures and bigger budget production, injecting their songs with the the right balance of reverb-drenched melodrama, including the jaw-dropping ache of “Evensong” and the jangly “Beginning the World.”
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28. My Bloody Valentine- Loveless (Creation, 1991)
Surely you’ve all heard this record by now, right?
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29. Chapterhouse- Whirlpool (Dedicated, 1991)
Chapterhouse’s debut album was unfairly maligned at the time of release, passed over in favor of the budding grunge movement as well as the inherent backlash against shoegaze that swept the UK. That said, the record holds us much of grunge’s loud-soft dynamic edge as it flirts with the dancier, club-minded bands that were en vogue only a few years prior. Whirlpool is otherwise chock full of stunning tracks, including massive-sounding singles “Falling Down” and “Pearl,” the swirling “Autosleeper,” and the Ride-esque rush of opening track “Breather.”
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30. The Church- Priest=Aura (Arista, 1992)
By the time The Church released their seventh studio record (not counting the essential Remote Luxury EP compilation), the band were unsuspecting college radio and MTV darlings. Four years after Starfish broke them across the globe, the band would carve out deeper and dreamier grooves, trading in their paisley shirts and jangly guitars for world-weary mysticism and evocative soundscapes. While this more introspective side of the band was always present throughout their previous work, Priest=Aura marks a full on transformation into the band they are still today.
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31. Lush- Spooky (4AD, 1992)
Lush were at ground zero of the UK shoegaze scene’s genesis, and cemented strong ties to their dream pop forebears by enlisting Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie to produce (a move that future dream poppers would emulate). Spooky was their first proper album, after several excellent EPs and the Gala comp, and the band and Guthrie hit it out of the park. On superb singles like “Nothing Natural” and “For Love,” sweet vocals move like candy-colored clouds across alternating chorus-laden guitar layers of gauzy, iridescent strums and driving jet-engine bursts.
-GF

32. Pale Saints- In Ribbons (4AD, 1992)
On their sophomore release, Leeds-based quartet Pale Saints trade in their youthful sense of experimentation for a highly focused sense of musicianship. Original Lush singer Meriel Barham’s dreamy vocals are the perfect counterpoint Ian Masters’ choirboy innocence, and each song on In Ribbons is a small masterpiece in itself, including the unsettling “Hair Shoes,” a re-recorded rip of “Babymaker,” and the energetic “Throwing Back the Apple.” While it may pale slightly in comparison to Mazzy Star’s definitive version, there’s also another equally enjoyable cover of Slapp Happy’s “Blue Flower” on board for the ride.
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33. Luna- Lunapark (Elektra, 1992)
The list of semi-supergroups that didn’t live up to their predecessor acts is long, but Luna weren’t among them. Boasting former Galaxie 500 singer/guitarist Dean Wareham, ex-Chills bassist Justin Harwood and former Feelies drummer Stan Demeski, Luna, for my money, topped them all. On their debut Lunapark, Wareham’s wry Ray Davies-like delivery and penchant for reverb hadn’t changed, but Luna were far more melodic and lush than Galaxie 500; on tracks like “Smile” and “Slash Your Tires,” the juxtaposition between his almost drowsy approach and the engaged, vibrant rhythm section proved irresistible.
-GF

34. Swallow- Blow (4AD, 1992)
Despite being released by 4AD during the label’s heyday, this duo’s debut album remains neglected and underrated. At the time, they were unfairly pigeonholed by the press as Cocteau Twins lite, and this threw a wrench into their trajectory. While there are similarities, Louis Trehy’s playful, elfin-like vocals are distinctly her own and Mike Mason’s guitar style has an unpolished edge quite unlike Guthrie’s heavily-processed approach. Mason’s organic tones marry wonderfully with Trehy’s kittenish cooing, and songs like “Lovesleep,” “Cherry Stars Collide” and “Head in a Cave” prove that Swallow was never just a Cocteau Twins knockoff.
-AC

35. The Telescopes- The Telescopes (Creation Records, 1992)
By the time The Telescopes released their second album, much of the band’s nightmarish energy had dissipated, giving way to warmer textures, melodic hooks, and kaleidoscopic atmosphere. That said, the band is no less edgy, with tracks like “High on Fire” and “Flying” offering up a more focused take on The Charlatans dance-heavy backbeats. It’s a forward looking album that bridges shoegaze, dream pop, and Britpop together years before anyone could make sense of the whole affair.
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36. Loveliescrushing- Bloweyelashwish (Projekt, 1992)
This criminally overlooked duo’s debut album is a true masterpiece of atmosphere. At its core, bloweyelashwish is the graceful interplay of heavily reverbed guitar and angelic vocals conveyed through a tangled palette of genres (shoegaze, noise pop, ambient, drone). The concept is elevated to breathtaking heights through a haunting combination of lo-fi soundscapes, abstract layers, atonal droning, and heavily processed noise passages – and the results are nothing short of otherworldly. Captivating and occasionally unsettling, these songs come through like ghostly transmissions from another dimension.
-AC

37. Seefeel- Quique (Too Pure, 1993)
As much of a techno record as it is a dream pop workout, Seefeel’s debut is dubbed-out, atmospheric perfection, as singular as it is vital. The album, best enjoyed in full, lives in a unified haze of minimal ambient textures, watery guitar loops, and sparse electronic percussion that’s easy to wrap yourself in for an eternity or two.
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38. The Cranberries- Everybody Else is Doing It So Why Can’t We? (Island, 1993)
When The Cranberries first emerged on the scene, they were met with little fanfare outside of their cult college radio following. However, their infectious songwriting and perfectly drenched production by Smiths producer Stephen Street would eventually catch spark, turning the band into unlikely, but welcome alt-superstars. While the singles on this record may be slightly overplayed (especially in light of the sudden death of vocalist Dolores O’Riordan earlier this year), there are plenty of stunning tracks, including hazy opener “I Still Do,” the powerful “Waltzing Back,” and the tense “How.”
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39. Secret Shine- Untouched (Sarah Records, 1993)
After issuing a handful of twee-oriented singles and EPs via Sarah Records, Bristol’s Secret Shine went headlong into shoegaze pop with the release of their debut album. While Untouched is undeniably influenced by My Bloody Valentine, their take on the traditional shoegaze sound feels lighter and dreamier than most. Droning guitars and layered effects are shot through with the golden threads of twee, and ultimately this is what makes Secret Shine sparkle amongst their peers. Swirling atmospheres and catchy-as-hell pop dynamics are their greatest strengths, best evidenced by disarming tracks like “Suck Me Down,” “Temporal” and “Spellbound.”
-AC

40. An April March- Impatiens (Cartwheel Recordings, 1993)
Hailing from Toronto by way of Ontario, Bedazzled’s An April March were one of the label’s longest-lasting projects, releasing a string of near-perfect albums throughout the ’90s, marrying swirling guitar textures, ethereal vocals, and the hard-hitting swagger of ’80s post-punk and goth rock. The formula already works wonders on their debut album – the churning “Gates Within Us” is a stunner, while the honey-textured “Scarlet Bliss” could easily be a top-tier outtake from Heaven or Las Vegas.
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41. His Name Is Alive- Mouth By Mouth (4AD, 1993)
An outsider amongst outsiders, His Name Is Alive have always marched to the beat of their own beautiful drum. Their third record is a trip through ’70s classic rock and folk with a heavy dose of contemporary samples and sweet, childlike vocals, and the results are as unsettling as they are soothing. Always evolving as each album unfurls, the band would take this style to its natural conclusion on this record, making it the most ephemeral of treasures.
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42. Insides- Euphoria (Guernica, 1993)
Originally released on 4AD’s sister label, the lone album by Insides drips with longing, sexual tension, and pulsing slabs of electronic passion. There’s a palpable detachment to Kirsty Yates’ vocals that perfectly encapsulates the post-release comedown and explores the unspoken spaces that make the lines between love, lust, and isolation as jarring and ugly as they can be.
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43. Red House Painters- Red House Painters (4AD, 1993)
Much has been said about Mark Kozalek’s knack for stream of consciousness lyrics that both inspire and puzzle in equal fashion, and the second Red House Painters album is arguably the band’s dreamiest and most devastating work, peppered with enough reverb to keep each gut-wrenching moment floating high above reality. Opening track “Grace Cathedral Park” captures every nostalgic memory from childhood in the span of four minutes, while the sprawling “Katy Song” is to be used sparingly, but to dizzying effect. Shoegaze textures are used all across the album, but mixed disorientingly low as to not overwhelm the delicate balance at play. The album truly is a rollercoaster of emotions, as its cover depicts.
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44. The Ecstasy of St. Theresa- …Fluidtrance Centauri… EP (Free, 1993)
While 1992’s full-length Susurrate is an equally deserving fit, we’re breaking again from our album-only format by design, as this three-track EP is their dreamiest and most satisfying offering to date. Eschewing much of the indie-pop and noise flavors that made their earlier tracks immediately accessible, the band plays with the spaces in between the cacophony, each track expanding on the last. Lead track “Fluidium” is one of the best tracks the genre has to offer – echoing chimes and delay-ridden guitars create a euphoric sense of tension that boils over into a jarring, yet jaw-dropping chorus before pulling back ever-so-suddenly as if it never happened.
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45. Springhouse- Postcards From the Arctic (Caroline Records, 1993)
New York City’s Springhouse had the bad luck to emerge at the turn of the ’90s, a time when the city and music in general weren’t paying much attention to dreamy, British-style bands with effects-laden guitars (Mitch Friedland’s unique nylon-stringed sound set them apart, even now). The trio shone as a beacon of atmospheric pop, aided by drummer Jack Rabid’s crucial advocacy for bands like The Chameleons and For Against in the pages of his “The Big Takeover” zine. Postcards from the Arctic, Springhouse’s second full-length album, was a particular triumph, complete with elegiac epics such as “Asphalt Angels” and the moving “Alley Park.”
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46. Here- Swirl (Indies Records, 1993)
Released in the Czech Repbulic, Here’s debut record is debatably the most obscure album on our list. However, what it lacks in popularity it makes up for with jaw-dropping ache, most apparent on the bass-driven “Somewhere” and the euphoric “Haze,” which boasts one of the warmest, rapturous choruses committed to tape. As with many of their peers (Bleach, Ecstasy of St. Theresa), Here’s mild flirtation with grunge’s textured distortion adds a touch of bite to their beauty.
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47. Adorable- Against Perfection (Creation Records, 1993)
A combination of poor timing and a prickly relationship with the press sadly knocked Adorable’s stars out of alignment. They hit the scene just as shoegaze fizzled out and right before Britpop took flight; never truly accepted by either camp, they tragically slipped through the cracks. Their outspoken swagger always felt more glam than ’gaze anyway, and their catchy guitar and razor-sharp vocals just didn’t resonate with the Creation crowd at the time. Grandiose gems like “Glorious,” “Breathless,” and “Homeboy” still hold up magnificently today.
-AC

48. Cranes- Loved (Dedicated, 1994)
By 1994, Cranes had been to hell and back again, emerging from the post-industrial slums into a world all their own. The band, fresh off their successful run of dates alongside The Cure, returned to the studio and offered up their strongest and catchiest record to date. While brighter and poppier than their previous efforts, their trademark cacophony and Alison Shaw’s babydoll vocals still kept their uniqueness and edge intact, while their songwriting cemented the band as eternal cult favorites.
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49. Closedown- Nearfield (Silent, 1994)
While there’s no shortage of obscure entries on this list, Closedown stands out as one of the most curiously overlooked. This four-piece from Los Angeles was one of America’s earliest shoegaze bands; some even say they were the first. Debatable, but the fact remains that Closedown and their sole release, Nearfield, have been consigned to oblivion. Occupying an interesting space between early Seefeel and Slowdive, the album weaves trippy ambient/noise tracks with more traditional shoegaze soundscapes in a way that feels comforting and alien in equal measure. If you only seek out one song, let it be the blissful 7+ minute epic “Red Oval.”
-AC

50. Difference Engine- Breadmaker (La-Di-Da, 1994)
A trio of 7’’ releases preceded the debut album from Difference Engine, which saw the upstate NY-based band take their fast-paced, devastatingly evocative sound to dizzying new heights. Dual male/female harmonies both drive and destroy each song, adding a sense of beautiful tension to each track. While a lost classic for many years, Saint Marie Records has recently reissued Breadmaker for a new generation to discover, and for this, we are eternally grateful.
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51. Orange- Orange (Dewdrops Records, 1994)
Another lost classic recently unearthed in part by Saint Marie Records, Orange were more than happy to get lost in the fog, flirting heavily with Lush’s sonic template and adding a heady sense of ethereal gloom to the tincture. Vocalist Sonya Waters soars with longing, the perfect ethereal counterpoint to the band’s cinematic swirl.
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52. Mojave 3- Ask Me Tomorrow (4AD, 1995)
While Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell traded in their effects pedals for acoustic guitars and brushes, Mojave 3’s debut record still drips with the embers of Slowdive’s untimely demise. The magic that made their previous band shine is still in full effect, exploring a more downtrodden and hazy take on late ’60s-era folk that’s every bit as twangy as it is delicate.
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53. Mistle Thrush- Silt (Bedazzled, 1995)
The opening bass grooves and haunting guitar trills of the debut Mistle Thrush album set the tone for one of the darker albums on the dream pop spectrum. The Boston-based band’s devotion to The Cure’s early albums and 4AD’s roster is worn lovingly on their sleeve, but instead of collapsing under the claustrophobia, Mistle Thrush offer a warmly glistening counterpart that takes over from where the like-minded This Ascension left off. Previously released (and subsequently re-recorded) single “Shine Away” is a shimmering highlight, while “Cicada” is the sound of the band firing on all four celestial cylinders.
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54. The Curtain Society- Inertia (Bedazzled, 1995)
Hailing from Boston, The Curtain Society’s brand of emotionally rich dream pop drew heavily from The Chameleons, Ride, and Blind Mr. Jones, as well as many of the cherished Sarah Records bands. The former should come as no surprise, as the band would incorporate an equally euphoric cover of “Swamp Thing” in their earlier live sets, and would go on to perform in an early lineup of Mark Burgess’ ChameleonsVox in the late 2000s. That said, the band’s debut is stunning on its own accord, and standout tracks like “Kissherface,” “Plaster” and “Holland” are as majestic as anything that came before.
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55. Sianspheric- Somnium (Sonic Union, 1995)
Sianspheric’s debut record owes just as much to slowcore’s sense of quiet devastation as it does to dream pop’s sense of magic and wonder. It’s easy to lose yourself in the slow-crawling swirl of “Broken Man” and “Watch Me Fall,” which conjure similar sonic landscapes as Red House Painter’s most poignant moments (and maybe even a touch of Mark Kozalek’s voice itself) and run them through an even more nuanced sonic palate.
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56. Siddal- The Pedestal (Bedazzled, 1995)
If Dead Can Dance and The Cure combined forces, they may have come up with something very similar to Siddal’s debut album on Bedazzled, a label already renowned for exploring the lines between ethereal, goth, and dream pop. Treated pianos, soft washes of guitar and piano, and anchored, driving bass lines are in full effect, flirting with a dark, menacing tension that seldom boils over, but instead evokes a haunting atmosphere so thick you can swim in it.
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57. Bowery Electric- Beat (Kranky, 1996)
After an album of more straightforward shoegaze, Bowery Electric began flirting with more electronic textures, inspired heavily by the blossoming techno, ambient, and trip hop scenes. While My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and even Chapterhouse would merely flirt with similar sonic territory during their reign, Bowery Electric fully embraced the underground club energy and made it their own, offering a hazier, throbbing counterpoint to Primal Scream’s drug-addled cacophony.
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58. All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors- All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors (Koombia Music, 1996)
The American set of dream pop acts are often passed over in favor of their earlier UK counterparts, but while it may have taken ages for the sound to permeate the US landscape, those who dig deeper are often rewarded with dozens of unknown, but fantastic bands. New Jersey’s All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors are willfully obscure, both their name and sound failing to capture the hearts and minds of the indie-rock circuit. That said, their debut album is an immediate treasure, full of slow-burn lullabies, atmospheric jangle-pop rhythms, and bubbling synth tweaks.
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59. Bethany Curve- Skies a Crossed Sky (Unit Circle Rekkids, 1996)
This is no small feat, but Skies a Crossed Sky might be the haziest, most reverb-drenched album on our list. The band turns the dial to 11 on their sophomore release, applying a copious amount of texture to every instrument, including the pummeling drum track and layer upon layer of Gregorian chant-esque vocals. The results are slightly nightmarish, as unsettling as they are beautiful.
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60. Half String- A Fascination With Heights (Independent Project Records, 1996)
Another American band reaching across the ocean in search of inspiration, Half String’s fascination with gentle-spun dream pop yields equally captivating results as their UK counterparts. The band’s Americanized take on the more delicate side of the spectrum falls similarly in line with labelmates For Against and the aforementioned Springhouse, and this album’s meat-and-potatoes production highlights Half String’s knack for writing achingly beautiful melodies that don’t require a recording studio to achieve success.
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61. The Autumns- The Angel Pool (Risk Records, 1997)
Surely the biggest band you’ve never heard of, The Autumns were every bit as incredible as many of their predecessors, but remained frustratingly under-the-radar for the majority of their career. Their debut is stunning, from the opening rain-soaked notes of “The Garden Ends,” to the sprawling haze of “Juniper Hill,” peaking with soaring closer “Glass in Lullabies.” Every track punches in with the perfect amount of drama and texture, with Matthew Kelly’s vocals channeling as much of Suede’s glammy melodrama as Slowdive’s melancholy echo.
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62. Ivy- Apartment Life (Atlantic, 1997)
A Francophile’s fantasy thanks to the effortlessly cool vocals of frontwoman Dominique Durand, Ivy offered what felt like a tall, cool Aperol spritz when the NYC trio meandered onto the scene in the mid-’90s. Building on the moodier soundscapes of their Realistic debut, Apartment Life brilliantly melded a breezy, swinging ’60s pop sensibility with Smiths-style songwriting and shimmering atmospheric production touches. Wistful in the best way.
-GF

63 Alison’s Halo- Eyedazzler (Burnt Hair, 1998)
While compilations are a dubious prospect on lists like this, no dream pop canon is complete without considering Alison’s Halo, who hailed from temperate Arizona. Eyedazzler collects the band’s early cassette and 7’’ releases, each track amongst the best the genre has to offer. They may have seemed out-of-place during their tenure, but as part of a small scene of West-Coastal bands, they found favor and camaraderie among the Independent Project Records collective, which included the like minded Half String and For Against as well as more atmospheric post-punk bands such as Savage Republic and Abecedarians. These tracks are a perfect time capsule of the band’s most fruitful era, easy to enjoy as a unified record.
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64. Love Spirals Downwards- Flux (Projekt Records, 1998)
The fourth and final album by Love Spirals Downward, darlings of the California ethereal set, broke stylistic ground for the duo of guitarist Ryan Lum and chanteuse Suzanne Perry. While the band’s earlier Projekt releases Idylls, Ardor and Ever stayed firmly within the subgenre’s melody-centered Cocteau Twins-influenced template, Flux incorporated skittering, downtempo trip hop and drum and bass rhythmic elements, oddly rendering their music even more intoxicating and opaque. Tracks like the peerless “City Moon,” “By Your Side,” and pulsating epic closer epic “Sunset Bell” felt like being trapped in a waking dream that you never wanted to end.
-GF

65. Auburn Lull- Alone I Admire (Burnt Hair, 1999)
Michigan’s Auburn Lull owe just as much to Arvo Pärt and Brian Eno as they do to Slowdive’s Pygmallion, with each track drenched in ambient synth washes that make the heart swell. There’s just enough organic instrumentation to keep the tracks from falling into the ether, while the band employs softly-stated brush work, low mixed vocals, twinkling pianos, and the occasional electronic drum loop underneath the album’s foggy aura.
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66. Piano Magic- Low Birth Weight (Rocket Girl, 1999)
London’s Piano Magic have never been afraid to try anything twice. One of the more experimental outfits on the dream pop spectrum, their debut record is equal parts post-rock tension as it is ambient bliss, yet a hazy aura runs through every track to unify it. Opening number “Snowfall Soon” is an atmospheric garden of delights even before giving way to a powerful percussive beat, while “Not Fair” is worth floating in forever.
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67. Antarctica- 81:03 (File 13 Records, 1999)
Antarctica’s debut full-length is a sprawling, two-disc affair that is as ambitious as it is satisfying, incorporating a series of sequenced drum loops, driving post-punk bass, and new wave-inspired synthesizers. Blending the saccharine pop pleasures of mid-era OMD, the hearty gloom of Comsat Angels, and the dizzying hooks of The Ocean Blue, 81:03 is far ahead of its time in scope, and a unique and welcome addition to the canon.
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68. Lowsunday- Elesgiem (Projekt, 1999)
After shortening their name, Lowsunday pushed their Chameleons-informed sonic experiments even further, expanding their range and honing in their craft. As such, Elesgiem is a powerful, sonic journey that unfolds over the course of 12 mercurial tracks, including the driving “Alone Without,” the crestfallen “Daystar,” and the bubbling “Zuff.”
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69. Air- The Virgin Suicides (Virgin Records, 2000)
On their sophomore LP, which doubles as the film score for Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut, Air heavily augments their electro sound with elements of ’70s psychedelia (Pink Floyd’s influence is unmistakable) and infuses it with an eerie, retro vibe perfectly suited to the film’s tragic protagonists – four beautiful and depressed teenage sisters. Languid melodies, hallucinatory soundscapes and distorted music box effects create an intensely hypnotic atmosphere, and the dense analog synths and unexpected chord progressions weave it all together to create a truly dreamlike, if unnerving, sonic tapestry.
-AC

70. Mira- Mira (Projekt, 2000)
Hailing from Tallahassee, Florida, Mira found a perfect home on Projekt Records, a label well aligned with dream pop, shoegaze, and ethereal music. Their debut, a transitional record for the turn of the century, perfectly dabbled in all three styles over the course of nine original tracks and a beautifully understated cover of a My Bloody Valentine classic that sleepily traded in the noise and focused on the song’s true essence. The song “Cayman,” while written about a cat, tugs at the heartstrings in a way that few songs can, building upon itself with sweeping layers of guitar and Regina Sosinski’s sweetly detached vocals.
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71. Con Dolore- This Sad Movie (Clairecords, 2001)
While the word is often thrown around so much that it’s lost much of its meaning, this underrated gem from the Clairecords catalog is cinematic by design. The songs use a healthy blend of organic and electronic instrumentation to pit isolation against the sounds of a city in heat. The album begins with powerful optimism but quickly descends into internal chaos, desperation, and dreamlike surrealism.
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72. Stella Luna- Stargazer EP (Clairecords, 2002)
Breaking format once more, but no list of essential dream pop releases could possibly be complete without pouring copious amounts of adoration on an otherwise ephemeral EP from this northern Florida quintet. Each track on Stargazer is a masterpiece, from the slow, devastating embers of opening track “Change,” the glacial and rapturous title track, and the haunting “Antares,” finally culminating in the soaring crunch of “A Bridge to Nowhere.” Each track blends seamlessly into another, casting a smoldering, intoxicating spell of heartache that makes us wish upon wishes that the band had more material to fawn over.
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73. M83- Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts (Gooom, 2003)
A largely instrumental affair, M83’s sophomore album is as indebted to shameless synthpop as it is blissed-out, cinematic dream pop. In fact, the closest touchstone to this monster of a record is fellow French band Air, who’s Virgin Suicides score laid the groundwork and left the door wide open for M83 to walk through it, unafraid, with drum machines, synths, and pedals blazing.
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74. Ashrae Fax- Static Crash (Self-Released, 2003)
Time has been extremely kind to Ashrae Fax, an ambitious band from North Carolina who come closest to reaching the tremendous sonic highs of Cocteau Twins and Colourbox than anyone else on this list. While the band recorded a handful of partially-instrumental EPs during their original tenure, Static Crash is their masterpiece, an overlooked gem of soulful vocals, swirling guitars, and dreamy electronics. A devout, cult following lent just the right amount of mystery to the record, which led to a reissue on Mexican Summer over 10 years later, followed by a series of live dates and an equally excellent reunion record.
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75. Delays- Faded Seaside Glamour (Rough Trade, 2004)
While much of shoegaze and dream pop’s vigor would eventually evolve into the more nationalistic and sonically simpler Britpop, the Delays manage to keep the spirit of both genres alive on their debut record, which soars with infectious melody and power. The opening refrain of “Nearer Than Heaven” ranks high amongst the most sugary sweet, cloud-grazing melodies ever committed to tape, and the remaining tracks offer the same saccharine beauty.
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76. Malory- Third Face (Supermodern, 2005)
From the opening notes of “Sleeper,” Malory’s third album sinks its claws right in and never lets go. The album is a journey through the entire shoegaze spectrum, marrying the beloved gloom of Slowdive with the electronic loops and drifting harmonies of bands like Broadcast or Stereolab, a hybrid that always works better than it should on paper. Combine a knack for experimentation with blissed out guitars, a love of ’60s pop singles, and sweet male/female vocals, and this album will always keep you guessing.
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77. The Lost Patrol- Lonesome Sky (Self-Released, 2005)
While New Jersey may be an unsuspecting haven for a latter-day dream pop project, The Lost Patrol merely live there. Instead, they operate in a world all their own, where cinematic spaghetti westerns play in unison with David Lynch’s nostalgic nightmares. The sleigh bells and synth sweeps of “Velveteen” tug heavily at the heartstrings, while the title track and “Run Wild” provide the perfect soundtrack to a late night drive through lush, country back roads.
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78. Mahogany- Connectivity! (Darla Records, 2006)
Music as sublime architecture, the triumph of Mahogany’s second album Connectivity! is how it adheres so firmly to its almost scientific/futurist lyrical and structural blueprint while still managing to push the autobahn throttle past the point of politeness and into the realm of transcendent ethereal bliss, heard best on the pulsing “Tesselation” and “Supervitesse,” the almost funkgaze of “One Plus One Equals Three or More,” and the epic, bell-dappled “Springtime Save My Country,” boasting a coda guitar hook so lovely it might as well be made of liquefied snowglobes.
-GF

79. Asobi Seksu- Citrus (Friendly Fire Recordings, 2006)
Forming in 2001, NYC’s Asobi Seksu were a blast of cherry blossom-scented air in a scene that had long avoided anything resembling dream pop. Guitarist James Hannah and singer Yuki Chikudate were the principals, joined by a long succession of rhythm sections. Citrus hit in in the spring of 2006, succeeding on all counts where their eponymous 2004 debut had been slightly clumsy and unformed. Alternately chiming and thunderous, gossamer mini-symphonies like “Thursday” and “Strawberries” recalled MBV without slavish imitation, paced by Chikudate’s lofty, kittenlike vocals. And then there is “Red Sea,” a spine-tingling beautiful monster of a tone poem that starts off with a twinkling bit of delicious sonic foreplay, before firing its incandescent engines into the stratosphere for a long, long denouement.
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80. Soundpool- On High (Aloft Records, 2006)
Forming in 2005, New York’s Soundpool debuted with this diaphanous effort, reminiscent of the best work of Lush. Serenely angelic vocals by Kim Fields rode on waves and waves of spun-sugar guitar noise, while the quintet’s well-crafted poptones like “Moonglow,” “My Ethereal Daydream,” and the title track were buttressed by perky organ and surprisingly danceable rhythms.
-GF

81. Pia Fraus- Nature Heart Software (Seksound, 2006)
Estonian group Pia Fraus formed in 1998, influenced by MBV and Stereolab, and soon began releasing a superb string of albums and EPs, wrapped in a sunshine sheen of warm, warbly guitar and synth tones. One could certainly make the case for the subsequent After Summer or predecessor In Solarium, but 2006’s Nature Heart Software, their third album, is our choice. From the moment the swirling, fuchsia-dream “Birds Still Swing” bursts from the speakers, Pia Fraus have the listener enveloped in a sonic hug that never lets go, fully embraced by the shifting textures and vocals by Rein Fuks and charming newcomer Eve Komp.
-GF

82. The Mary Onettes- The Mary Onettes (Labrador, 2007)
For those eternally chasing the perfect pop song, The Mary Onettes’ debut may be your Holy Grail. Effortlessly catchy and dripping with ’80s nostalgia, these 10 songs irresistibly capture the poppier elements of bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, The Church, The Cure, and The Smiths without feeling derivative of anyone in particular. If John Hughes’ films had modern-day equivalents, songs like “Lost,” “Slow” and “Explosions” would be anthemic enough to soundtrack the most memorable and heart-tugging scenes.
-AC

83. Bell Hollow- Foxgloves (Five03, 2007)
Foxgloves is the now-defunct Brooklyn outfit’s only full-length, but what a stunner. Elements of post-punk, shoegaze and New Romanticism merge seamlessly to create this heady elixir. The spectral atmosphere is punctuated by haunting and uniquely delivered lyrics, and the intricate guitar work blankets each track in a mysterious magic, bringing to mind Faith/Pornography-era Cure. The infinitely catchy “Copper Crayon” should be your first stop, but the album is truly defined by the shadowy beauties that surround it, such as “Eyes Like Planets,” “Jamais Vu” and “Getting on in Years.” Essential listening for any lover of dark and dreamy pop.
-AC

84. The Daysleepers- Drowned In a Sea of Sound (Clairecords, 2008)
Following two impressive EPs, Buffalo’s dreamy Daysleepers hit the jackpot with this full-length oceanic opus, one of dream pop’s finest hours. Its aquatic ambience reflected in both sound, song titles and cover art makes for a conceptually perfect work, rich with layers of delayed guitar hooks worthy of The Chameleons and Cocteaus, and gilded by softly melodic vocals. Unlike some bands in the genre, they worshipped 4AD but spent enough time absorbing the post-punk and new wave songcraft of the 1980s to ensure that gems like “Twilight Bloom,” “Tiger in the Sea” and the wistful “Distant Creatures” shone with distinctive and catchy melodies and a kind of ravishing translucent power.
-GF

85. School of Seven Bells- Alpinisms (Ghostly International, 2008)
Originally a trio of former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis and two sisters, Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, SVIIB spent several years crafting their Alpinisms debut. With techno-trippy songs like “My Cabal,” “Connjur,” and “Face to Face on High Places,” the record exemplified the more electronic side of dream pop, indebted to artists as different as Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode and Björk. Although the band came to a close with Curtis’ untimely death in 2013, their albums remain ghostly, gleaming marvels, effortlessly blending synthetic textures with glowing psychedelic-pop melodies and moods.
-GF

86. Tears Run Rings- Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never (Clairecords, 2008)
Although the project has released two gorgeous albums since, it was Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never that originally stole hearts and put them firmly on the map. The sprawling instrumentation, lush melodies and stunningly layered vocals quickly capture the imagination, enveloping the listener in a dream-like reverie that persists from the first note to the last. The cascading guitars and vocal harmonies immediately bring to mind the shimmery atmosphere of Slowdive, and while there’s not a weak moment on the record, “Fall Into Light,” “Mind the Wires” and “How Will the Others Survive?” are particularly exquisite.
-AC

87. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- The Pains is Being Pure at Heart (Slumberland/Fortuna, 2009)
Indie-pop darlings The Pains of Being Pure at Heart add copious amounts of fuzz to the Sarah Records palette, and offer 10 tracks of sweetly textured perfection. What they may lack in originality, they compensate with confidence, well-executed musicianship, and perfectly blended male/female vocals. There are no shortage of blissed-out hooks to be found on the record, from the fast paced, breezy “Come Saturday,” the tender “Stay Alive,” and the forever timeless Ronettes homage “Gentle Sons.”
-FD

88. The Fauns- The Fauns (Laser Ghost Recordings, 2009)
This Bristol-based group’s self-titled, self-produced, and self-released debut album was definitely a genre highlight in 2009. Opener “Lovestruck” casts a spell immediately with its gossamer keyboards, mesmerizing guitars, and Alison Garner’s velvety croon. The songs that follow are as classy as they come and steeped in classic dream pop textures. “Cool Stuff” is sheer elegance, “Fragile” bewitches, and the album’s crowning jewel, “Road Meets the Sky,” soars straight into the heavens, taking you with it. Despite being a relatively recent release, The Fauns’ debut glimmers with a timeless sheen.
-AC

89. Wild Nothing- Gemini (Captured Tracks, 2010)
A blissful bedroom band consisting of Blacksburg, Virginia’s Jack Tatum, Wild Nothing made a splash with 2010 debut Gemini. “I’d rather live in dreams,” Tatum sang on the opening track, setting a tone that continued with the the golden rush of “Summer Holiday” and bittersweet beauty of the title track. Referencing everything from Felt and C86 to the early Cure, his callow, yearning vocals and wistfully romantic lyrics were set to some of the dreamiest strumming set to wax.
-GF

90. Blouse – Blouse (Captured Tracks, 2011)
Deliciously lo-fi and dripping with equal parts melancholy and pop bliss, Blouse’s debut album is yet another masterpiece of detached bedroom pop released on the vital Captured Tracks imprint. “Time Travel” pulses with electronic abandon, weighted down with thick bass grooves, while “They Always Fly Away” offers a gloomier counterpoint to the Chromatics slow burn disco-funk. “Into Black” is the album’s hazy centerpiece, fit to fill the hearts and minds of disaffected dreamers everywhere.
-FD

91. Belong- Common Era (Kranky, 2011)
Following a successful 2006 debut, this New Orleans-based duo was set to record a follow up when Hurricane Katrina struck, delaying the album for five years. In this time, the band underwent a total sonic overhaul, replacing the experimental drone landscapes of their debut with the melancholy squall of ’80s post-punk. Littered with distorted melodies, cascades of delay, drowned vocals and the ceaseless pulse of strung-out motorik, Common Era conveys a beautiful but all-consuming sense of alienation in the wake of tragedy.
-AC

92. Still Corners- Creatures of an Hour (Sub Pop, 2011)
Based in London, this duo of Tessa Murray and Greg Hughes looked backward to a somewhat cinematic, retro-cool ’60s flavor reminiscent of Julee Cruise and Broadcast. Debut album Creatures of an Hour was the perfect showcase for their spectral smoothie of whispered voices, noir organ, and vibrato guitar, delivered to perfection on mini-masterpieces like “Into the Trees,” “Velveteen,” and the eerie “I Wrote in Blood.”
-GF

93. Tamaryn- Tender New Signs (Mexican Summer, 2012)
On Tamaryn’s second album, the darkness begins to crack, just enough to let the light shine through. Rex John Shelverton’s guitars are warm and inviting, while Tamaryn’s vocals drip with longing regret over the course of nine shimmering gems. Singles “Heavenly Bodies” and “The Garden” are some of the catchiest tracks this side of the century, informed equally by post-punk’s unnerving heartache and pop’s bright hooks.
-FD

94. Chromatics- Kill For Love (Italians Do It Better, 2012)
While best known for their slow, synth-driven, Italo disco style, Kill for Love officially crossed Chromatics over into dream pop territory. The album’s sprawling 17 songs feel cinematic and elegant, deftly combining synthetic and organic elements to create the ultimate melancholy mood piece. The utterly brilliant title track, somehow both romantic and bleak, was easily one of 2012’s best singles. On an album full of dark gems, “Back from the Grave” and “The Page” stand out with their cold, hypnotic rhythms and somber lyrical content.
-AC

95. Beach House- Bloom (Sub Pop, 2012)
Perhaps the archetypal modern dream pop band, Baltimore’s Beach House built an entire oeuvre out of two primary elements: the sultry, emotion-packed vocals of Victoria Legrand and the shimmering, twinkling guitars of Alex Scally, backed with simple organ chords and the unobtrusive ticking of a drum machine. The duo upped the lush quotient for their third album, Bloom. The exquisite “Myth” builds to a tremolo-trilled peak; followed by the chiming “Wild” and sparkly “Lazuli” for a opening triad that left fans swooning.
-GF

96. Diiv- Oshin (Captured Tracks, 2012)
Brooklyn’s Diiv burst onto the dream pop scene with a bang in 2012, boasting unexpected influences ranging from Nirvana to African guitar along with the usual shoegaze suspects, but the resulting album Oshin absolutely lived up the hype. Revelatory songs like “Human,” “Doused,” “How Long Have You Known?,” and the stunning “Past Lives” were breathtakingly melodic, with frontman Zachary Cole Smith and Andrew Bailey’s twin guitars unspooling into repetitive, hooky, heart-melting guitar ostinatos and rifflets that functioned as earworms supreme and the songs’ primary hooks, and Smith’s almost ghostly sepia-toned vocal lines buried in bathtubs of massive reverb.
-GF

97. Be Forest- Earthbeat (We Were Never Being Boring, 2014)
Exemplars of the burgeoning Italian shoegaze scene, Be Forest – hailing from the coastal Adriatic town of Pesaro – first served notice with 2011’s lovely Cold, establishing a distinctive sound of delicate vocals and even more delicate, Felt/Morricone-style echo-tossed guitar filigrees. Their follow-up, 2014’s more assured and potent Earthbeat, felt like a concept album for a future-primitive forest tribe, as soft tom-tom patterns form a path for a gentle kaleidoscopic rush through a sun-dappled wood, breezes tugging on skirts and leaves falling in random patterns. “Ghost Dance,” “Airwaves” and “Sparkle” were just a few highlights on a remarkably consistent modern masterpiece.
-GF

98. Them Are Us Too- Remain (Dais, 2015)
A heartbreaking listen even without considering the tragedy that would befall the band in the Ghost Ship fire, Them Are Us Too’s debut album is a true diamond in the rough. Simple, childlike vocal melodies, slow syrupy synths, and cracking drum programming make this a captivating and ephemeral record from top to bottom. Each rapturous track soaks through the skin and touches the most guarded of nerves.
-FD

99. Chasms- On the Legs of Love Purified (Felte, 2016)
Deliciously heavy without being overtly noisy, Chasms’ debut album transforms slow, pummeling energy into ethereal bliss. Like Cranes and In the Nursery before them, Jess Labrador’s heavenly vocals float deliciously above the gnawing industrial landscapes, an exercise in balance that pays off in spades on the smoldering “Beyond Flesh” and the percussive “Come to Harm.”
-FD

100. Airiel- Molten Young Lovers (Shelflife Records, 2017)
Airiel entered the scene in the early 2000s with a dreamy string of EPs collectively known as Winks & Kisses. After 2012’s Kid Games EP, the band disappeared to put painstaking effort into a sophomore album. Molten Young Lovers materialized half a decade later, living up to even the highest expectations with its hook-laden, reverb-drenched pop arrangements. Bittersweet vocals and bright synths give a nostalgic nod to ’80s pop, while penetrating guitar work and effects-heavy textures recall classic shoegaze at its finest. Near-perfect songs like “The Painkillers” and “This Is Permanent” are nothing short of triumphant.
-AC

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