Pinkshinyultrablast - Everything Else Matters (2015)

Genre: Shoegaze
Country: Russia

Six years of waiting since their EP back in 2009 was certainly well worth the wait. They really evolved and developed their sound into something more vibrant and punchy here. Perhaps you even could say that it has the best rhythm section of any shoegaze album in the past ten years. Shoegaze has the reputation of sounding contemplative and build an atmosphere that just meanders but this album just sounds like they really want to burst and explode. In all honesty, nothing completely new here is done, rather, everything just feels fresh and is well executed. If you're fan of all the shoegaze revival that's becoming more apparent, there's no better time to hop on.

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Swan Dive - Fly Towards the Sun (2013)

Genre: Shoegaze, Punk Rock
Country: United States/United Kingdom

So Brandon Setta of shoegaze band Nothing and Joey Bayes of melodic hardcore band More Than Life got together and wrote some grungy, punky, shoegaze songs back in 2013. Expect something akin to Nothing rather than More Than Life, especially to songs on the Whirr/Nothing split. It kinda sounds like something that would be written in the 90s but by no means is it a poor form of worship from bands in that era. Reverberated vocals are still in play, a hint of angst and melancholy maybe, and some basic elements from shoegaze can be found. If you like Nothing at all, you'll probably find some enjoyment in this.

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Avzhia - Key of Throne (2004)

Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
Country: Mexico

Firstly, I would like to a)apologize for my lack of activity and b)thank Rhyme for staying trve and keeping it alive. Back when I was a youngin', I would be salty as hell when a blog didn't update regularly, but now that I'm an adult I kind of get it. Also, writer's block has been killing me, but FUCK IT, I don't need to overly describe anything to post excellent music. First up is Avzhia, and their 2004 opus Key of Throne. You can tell by the broken English of the title that this absolutely rules. I generally find symphonic black metal to be a little kitschy and over-dramatic for my tastes, but the orchestrations here are perfect; they perfectly accentuate the darkness of the music without adding any unnecessary cheese. The production is excellent, dirty but not TOO dirty, allowing the atmosphere to truly operate at full capacity. Overall a worthwhile release.

yo quiero Avzhia