WESTKUST: DEMO

DEMO is the debut Ep from the Swedish quartet WESTKUST. Unlike much of the very sugary pop music that one associates with Sweden, WESTKUST is decidedly on the post-punk side of the shoegaze spectrum. All the clichés are present and accounted for: jangly fuzzed out guitars, vocals pushed back in the mix and heavy doses of reverb all around. The 5 tracks are harder edged and the heavy guitars seem to blend into a cacophony of noise, only to be resolved into distinct parts just when all seems lost. Do I like the EP, yes. Do I love it, no. There seems to something lacking overall. The lo-fi sound, for this band, works against the music being presented. An odd statement for me as I'm a huge fan of lo-fi. I find myself  wanting to hear the parts recorded clearly, so that the band's musicality comes through more. My feeling about this album comes down to not liking the production much. I like the songs. I like the way they’re played, but I don’t much like the way the EP sounds. See what you think. The EP can be streamed and downloaded for free at the link below.

Withershins: Aeriel

The Withershins debut (and only) album, Aeriel was released in August of 2009. While the band is still an active part of the Champaign, IL music scene, one wonders why the long hiatus without any follow-up recording. Nonetheless Aeriels is a record worthy of attention. Straddling the precarious ground between shoegaze and post-rock with just a touch of emo, the album serves up both bare rock and lush indie landscapes, as on Pygmalion or Giant Flying Panda. The 12 songs are catchy and the guitars show a range of textures from clean pop to heavy fuzz.  Rather than a feeling of individual tracks, I was drawn into the album in its totality, with each track being an invitation to the next.  This is indie music at its best. Here’s hoping that another album is in the works and that Aeriels is the prelude to a new musical statement from the band, rather than a swansong to what could have been. Stream the album or download for only the exchange of your email address at the link below.

Dead Electric: This Mind Of Yours

So I must admit an abhorrent fixation with classic lo-fi sounds. Just like bands that have that recorded on a beat-up Tascam 4-track reel-to-reel vibe.  This Mind Of Yours, the debut album from Glasgow quartet Dead Electric, is just such an album. A record full of well crafted pop songs delivered in a wrapping of heavy reverb, muffled tracks and vocals coming from the backyard somewhere. The band says that the album was recorded in sheds, houses, studios and hallways on anything they could get our hands on and the tracks sound like it. They have a consistency of lo-fi texture that proves the perfect landscape for presenting the songs. The tracks themselves all fit a fuzzy, psych-pop format that work together perfectly. You can stream the album at Bandcamp and buy it by naming your price, or share your email address with the band and download it for free.

Teepee: Morals (Deluxe Edition)

Pure fuzzed out bliss. Teepee is the alter ego of Miami's Eric Lopez-Zareno. Morals is a psyched out, shoegaze journey through a land where lo-fi sensibility meets a crisp and clean recorded sound. Together this spawns an album full of great songs, stellar instrumentals and vocals that echo like listening through the wall to someone singing in your bathroom. Full of dark, in your face guitars that, at once, gangle and belie a heavyness missing in much of realm. Of particular note is the use of acoustic guitars as the lead instrument, like on the track Philippines, showing that you don't need electrics to make a compelling lo-fi statement. This album is full of shoegaze goodness. The only minor (and very minor at that) peeve is that there are not more drums and when there, at times, the drum machines sound a bit too artificial for my taste.

Welcome to Floorshime Zipper Boots

Welcome to the Floorshime Zipper Boots Blog. As you might be able to guess from the name, this blog is about shoegaze music. It will feature album reviews and info on new and undiscovered shoegaze bands. We will take a fairly broad approach to the definition of what is shoegaze, so expect the artists featured to also span across lo-fi, electronic, post punk and post rock. I hope you enjoy the music and artists presented. The music presented here is for review only. Please support the artists and buy their music if you hear something you like.

If you are in a band and want to have your music considered for review, send us an email at:
russianwinterrecords (at) gmail.com. Please limit attachments to one MP3, or better yet, give us a link to your Bandcamp or Soundcloud page.

BTW, I know Floorshime is spelled incorrectly. Don't want to have any hassels from the corporate powers at be.

Enjoy