By Holly Day
I know you’re not supposed to start an album review with, “I really like this album,” but I really do like this album. At first, I thought it was maybe because it reminded me of so many other great bands I loved, especially My Bloody Valentine, Mean Spiders, Devics, most of the Darla Records catalog—all sorts of other shoegazer-type bands from the early ‘90’s that old people like me simply must reference when discussing new music like this.
However, after listening to this six or seven times, I am fully convinced that I like this album just because it’s good, and not just because it reminds me of other mostly-defunct bands I like.
There’s a beautiful lurching quality to all of the tracks, which alternate between male and female (human) vocals, especially in the slower songs like “All My Life,” “Inside,” and “Natural Girl,” that is just disjointed enough that it feels like, in order to dance to anything here properly, one must lean on a crutch or hold tight to a wall to keep from falling over.
The entire album is cushioned in a beautifully consistent wall of thick static that sounds even better when you turn it up really loud, suggesting that this band might be just as wonderful, or even more wonderful, to catch live.
Forged Artifacts/http://forgedartifacts.com/
Digital download http://pantherray.bandcamp.com/ or limited edition vinyl, 31 minutes
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