A Spacious New Single from Halcyon Low
Shoegaze is a genre that feels very personal to me. The style and approach of the songwriting with these kinds of releases speak volumes simply because they tend to pull at emotions and deliver this unique spaciousness that seems to take over.
The approach to the soundscape of shoegaze is different for certain bands, and there are all kinds of facets and avenues of the genre, especially when bringing in other elements.
The latest release from Halcyon Low gives such an intense and deepening sensation with their sound that it's just overwhelming, but in a great way.
It's the kind of song you think about for hours after it has ended because they put together and build this intense and sort of vibrant but edgy atmosphere that just feels like it's swimming around you.
The song is called "Clover", and one of the reasons that this band nails the shoegaze sensibilities is the sheer fact that they're able to build layers of guitar sounds in a way that gives the sensation of a song that breathes in, and then exhales back out.
The combination of sonically driving and edgy fuzz tone, grunge-oriented distortion, and the chorus effect riddled, watery, and wavy clean guitar approach is everything with this track.
During those clean sections where things are a little calmer, you'll end up getting the Sensation that you are actually adrift with the song.
When things get bigger, more epic, more intense, heavier distortion, and drumming, you get the sensation of this sort of explosive but still Airy and Atmospheric, semi-ambient tonality.
For me, Halcyon Low has somehow nailed this aesthetic so well that I can't stop thinking about it.
Throughout listening to this track, there is a specific way that they put you right there in the moment. You feel like you're knee deep in this set of tones. It feels like an ocean of Sonic presents and textures that just pulls you in deeper.
There's some great timing elements going on at the beginning of the track, the drumming is absolutely outstanding because it helps the breathing, alive sort of provide even further.
The drummer in this band absolutely understands what's going on and has a great way of creating this flow that becomes the current of the song, and that, in turn, is actually what pulls you in and keeps you adrift with everything.
I can't really express enough how huge the heavy guitar sections are. It's almost augmented in a sense. It's a wall of distortion, and it's not noise; it's melodic, but it's also dirty, grungy, and has a certain fire behind it.
So, it's all about the balance between the calmness and the fire. These guys know exactly how to create those waves that come crashing in and then let them sort of disintegrate back down again.
The vocals are gorgeous. They're almost always harmonizing with two or three different notes that are performed like their instruments themselves, adding this great layer to the already lush and completely full-bodied feeling single.
This track is for true and honest shoegaze lovers. These guys were able to take their own approach to it and really create something that felt confluent, graceful, beautiful, edgy, impactful, and also really paid attention to the tones of their instruments so that the actual soundscape came across the way that they intended.
There was plenty of thought that went into this track, and the post-mix of it is astounding as well.
Of course, as we know, in real shoegaze like this, there's a lot of reverb effect in that post-mix. The guitars, vocals, and even drums have different levels and layers of reverb set upon them, creating a depth using those layers.
Really well done from start to finish. This whole thing took me by surprise, and I listened to plenty of shoegaze.
For those of you who don't really fully get what shoe guys is, first of all, obviously, listen to this song.
Secondly, it's a genre that combines an elegance of sound and tone to build a vastness, but also brings on a heavier side of things as well. There are very melodically driving elements to the song and to all shoegaze, and it's a genre that you either love or hate.
I happen to love it. I love songs that showcase different sides of intensity and elegance in songwriting. A song can be heavy, noisy, grungy, and a little gritty, but with layers of ambience and melody, it can flesh out those elements together to create something beautiful.
Halcyon Low is definitely a band I'm going to be paying attention to from here on out. No joking.
If you're a fan of shoegaze, you do not want to miss this.
Listen to the track to see exactly what I mean.
