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And so, I begin my reviews of some of the finest shoegaze music of
the year with one of the finest 'gazer records I've heard in over
a decade. A Northern Chorus' latest release, Bitter Hands
Resign, is a veritable masterwork of aural bliss. The songs are
downbeat and melancholy washes of sound with vocals used more as instruments
that linger in dense reverberations, lending an air of tranquility
to the songs. The album instantly recalls the early days of Slowdive
and Ride to these tired old ears, and that is a very welcome
sound.
"The Shepherd & The Chauffeur" is a dynamic track that
begins with a move from softly chiming guitars into a full-fledged
wall of Ride-like sound and back down to a cello only whisper. "Subjects
& Matter" moves more towards rock with its near constant
slight drumming and vocals that fit a bit more rhythmically. It is
still a dreamy tune, full of chiming arpeggiated guitars and solid
basslines. "This Open Heart" is a densely sonic track, built
upon solid walls of organ, guitars, and bass. This song could have
easily been a standout track from Just For A Day with its spacey
vocals and slowly lilting rhythms. The splendor of the ride cymbal
has almost never been more evident. The beauty of "Prisoners
Of Circumstance" belies its heavy subject matter, creating a
palette of light musical tones (reminiscent of The Autumns) that carry
a story of death and heartbreak. Nowhere on this record is the dynamic
ability of the band more evident than on the charming "Costa
Del Sol" with its slowly building rise into sonic glory, and
the absolutely stunningly harmonized layered vocal tracks.
A Northern Chorus' lyrics are dazzling, with the album opening
lines "You've been talking in tongues for years now haven't
ya/ encoding the view into your body of work/ The story goes, that
somewhere across the prairie spine you severed all ties to the crime
and drove on for miles." The prose on this record is exactly
that, a rambling poetry that rarely rhymes and drags syllables into
long draws to fill spaces. The result is a completely non-pop feel
to the music, nudging this fine release firmly into the shoegaze/art
form of music. The multi-layered vocals are delicate at most times,
which betrays the heaviness of the mass of the subject matter.
Not only is this amazingly brilliant music, but the album artwork
is classic and beautiful… not to be missed. It looks to be
another great year for shoegaze music, and I'll be here to let you
know what I find.
-Embo Blake
Track Listing:
1. The Shepherd & The Chauffeur
2. Subjects & Matter
3. This Open Heart
4. Watershed Divine
5. Prisoners Of Circumstance
6. Costa Del Sol
7. Don't Think Of Collapse
8. Winterize
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Northern Chorus
