Review Summary: Like sitting on a bed of fluff, while angelic sirens lullaby you with their enchanting harmonies
Shoegaze - or shoegazing - was once a fairly prominent genre of music, way back in the early 1990's. Pioneered by bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive and even Cocteau Twins, it revolves more around light, fluffy, yet undeniably heavy guitars wrapped in ethereal, whispery vocals with a strong emphasis on melody. While it may not have taken off as the "next big thing" in the mainstream, some of the bands mentioned earlier did recieve mild success and have influenced some of the biggest bands in recent times.
The question is, where is it now? Does a genre simply disappear after a few years or amazing releases? No, of course not; bands today such as Beach House, Pains of being Pure at Heart and Yuck all have strong shouegaze influences in their music, but they don't quite have the sound, or
feeling that those bands from way back when retained. Some might say that form has died, completely drained of its life; this reviewer recommends you look no further than the next paragraph to find the answer to those questions.
Enter LSD and the Search for God. Not much is really known about these guys - they formed in 2006, released a single EP, and faded back into obscurity - every hipsters wet dream. All that you really
need to know is that the twenty-two minutes and one second are among the most soothing, dream-like and slightly psychadelic you'll hear. With a strong pop sensibility and slightly experimental undertones, LSD and the Search for God make one of the easily digestible - yet slightly addictive - EPs I've heard. The music on this thing is everything one would want and expect from a Shoegaze band: shimmering guitars, soothing vocals, and a generally chilled out nature.
Kicking off the album with a single guitar strumming along a reverb-soaked chord, is The Time. One of the heavier songs on here, it is complete with bombastic drums, ripe with fills; cool basslines, carefully underlying the guitars, while still retaining their own groove; and Kevin Shields'- I mean, male vocals floating over top. Eventually, keyboards, background guitar riffs and other whimsical melodies pop up in the background, making a song that is very easy to get lost in.
The next track, I Don't Care, marks the introduction of female vocals on the EP, and by Job they are wonderful. I am not sure if she uses any effects on them, but the way she simply sings melodies in place of lyrics at times is really quite refreshing, as well as soothing. I could equate her vocals to drinking a glass of ice cold lemonade in a hot sumer's day; very sweet, chilled and laid-back, and makes you feel like you're lying on a cloud in the sky. Okay, maybe I'm slightly overrating lemonade, but you get the picture. Her vocals are among the best back-up vocalists I've heard. Look no further than the track "Starting Over" for proof of this.
The production, while nothing stellar, does what it is supposed to on a record like this: provides a lush ambience for the band to take you away into a foreign land of LSD and magic pixie dust. The mix is nice, despite the drums being a tad low on the mix, and the guitar sounds are phenomenal.
Overall, this is a must-have EP for anyone even remotely into shoegaze. This band has done a wonderful job trying to recreate the sound of early 90's shoegaze we all hold dear, and the fact that they disbanded after only 5 short songs is a real tragedy. But, it does give one hope for the future of shoegazing - with the recent news on My Bloody Valentine, and the works of recent band Whirr, who knows - there could be a shoegaze revival sometime in the near future. We'll just have to brace ourselves, Loveless vinyl in hand, prepping for the oncoming storm of feedback, fuzz, noise, and, most importantly - bliss.
