By Derek Lynch
Anyone who’s been lucky enough to stumble onto Minneapolis’s incredible shoegazing corner of the scene is already familiar with space-rockers Fire In the Northern Firs. Unfortunately, they haven’t seen much action over the past year.
FITNF’s Shane David Kramer, however, has been hard at work for the majority of 2014 on his three-song solo EP, The Promising Signs of Stars. Over the course of ten minutes, Kramer takes what you know about shoegaze and flips it sideways.
What we’re left with is a sprawling landscape of sound (because let’s face it, the word “soundscape” is an absurdity) that seems to press “pause” on the brink of orgasm and stretch it out, indefinitely and infinitely. “The Sun Will Shine” seeks to hypnotize right off the bat with droning guitars and repetitive drums. Just when you begin to lose your sense of self in the sea of sound, Kramer pulls you back, reassuring you that “the sun will shine on you today.”
“Swept By Miles” brings a sense of familiarity with its use of piano, both conventional and Fender Rhodes types. The piano, however, is quickly joined by, and sometimes undermined by, swirling guitar chords, seemingly swimming back and forth in the ether, grounded only by a slow and deliberate drumbeat. Over it all, Kramer cries that “I have lived for you, I will give for you, I am here for you, I am near for you.”
The short journey ends on the uplifting title track, providing a breath of fresh air and a glimpse of the first light of day. Whatever far reach of your mind Kramer threw you in, here he is pulling you out. If you’re going to listen to one EP this week, make it Promising Signs. The tracks work wonderfully alone, but it’s well worth it to take ten minutes and take it all in at once, the way it’s meant to be heard.
https://ecstatticstudio.bandcamp.com/album/ecss5-the-promising-signs-of-stars-by-shane-david-kramer
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