We'll start the week with a shoegaze inspired single and album which has been released just in the last couple of weeks. 'Pinemoon' are from Denmark, and their album 'Miracle' has, to an extent, a nostalgic sound which reminds me of the bands that so influenced me in my teenage years - and thus probably showing my age in the process. They're a duo consisting of Steven Steward and Christoffer Schultz, who've performed in a number of other Danish indie bands, and interesting that sound which they're created has been achieved through using both mixed analog and tape recording techniques - and this will definitely make sense when you listen to the album.
The lead track from the album is 'Strange Times', and it's a real success, with fuzzy guitars carrying the track forward and vocals setting out a melody that will immediately get under your skin - there's a warmth to this that makes it instantly appealing, and I love the sound of the wailing guitars introduced half way through the track.
The album has a fair few highlights, with 'Long Dive' a laid back track that gently builds to a euphoric chorus climax that peers through the mist, whilst the melodic aspirations of the album are demonstrated in 'I Try', and I like the pace of the 'Annabelle', which drifts into dreamy psychedelia and has a lovely section some 1 minutes 30 into the track. At almost 7 minutes long, the concluding 'The Feeling That You Left Me Won't Return' really allows 'Pinemoon' to build up the tension and intensity of the melancholy songwriting, and the discordant / atonal guitar interventions are particularly effective in disturbing the otherwise tranquil waters of the album.
This is 'Strange Times':
This is an album very much for the fans of bands like 'Slowdive' and 'Ride', and you can find 'Pinemoon' on Facebook. The album 'Miracle' is released through the Danish record label 'Pinhead Music'.