Virgins Begin Their Bow-Out With A New Single
If ever there was a damn near perfect union between shoegaze, post-punk, and alternative rock, the new single from Virgins is it.
The song doesn't shy away from bringing some melodic and edgy, heavy rock with spacious undertones and robust vocals, delivering a unique sort of atmosphere that comes through colorfully but again, with a great edginess and its overtone.
The track starts off with a great riff, boasting that heavy feel, but underneath that, you do have a lot of that expansive and distant feel.
When the vocals kick in, they have a great reverb to them. They are also distant and the effect of how the vocals and the energy of the band come together feels like a live performance.
During the verses, there are a few different layers of guitars that feel like they blend and bounce off of each other, giving a very sort of full-bodied aesthetic and leaving no empty space, which is something I really like because it gives you a lot to chew on.
The vocalist is so amazing at just giving these lush melodies and performing with such a graceful approach. A hand to that classic shoegaze style and how she utilizes loads of pop influences in the mix so that the song has that poppy feel amongst all the great layers of texture and tone that are happening.
Even during its heaviest points, the song just feels cinematic and slightly anthemic, on top of that. The performance is based off synergism and the band definitely feeds off of each other and pushes the song forward so that you have a boisterous and very sonically thriving kind of soundscape.
During the breakdown of the track there are these notes that sort of hover around in the background. They float through the ether of the song, giving it a little bit of extra haunt and I can't tell if it's keyboards or more guitars. I like the fact that I can't tell though. I want to be intrigued and be able to just get engulfed in the sound that they're delivering so much self, that I'm sitting there trying to figure out what that tone is.
For me, this is super fun because I often pick songs apart pretty deeply, and I love a track that keeps me on my toes.
This is a brilliantly woven piece of work and this band just has such a love for what they do, performs with amazing intensity, and comes through with this powerhouse sort of sound that still has a smooth and silky flow, and a little bit of an aggressive, but again, pop-coated overtone as well.
To be able to pull all that off is not easy, but they definitely do it.
This single is a taste of their upcoming EP set to release last month, which sadly is set to be their last work together.
Performing their final show at the end of February, the band is bowing out with style.
I cannot wait to hear the full EP, releasing next month, but this single will definitely keep me at bay until then.
Now, if you didn't know about Virgins before this, then after listening to this new single, I suggest listening to "blooms", released last year, and 'gliss", which dropped in 2024.
The band also has EPs and full albums released that you can jump right on, and if you love shoegaze, alternative, cinematic rock, a little grunge undertone, a hint of experimental, and an unwavering Sonic presence, then you should definitely swim through all of their stuff.
After listening to "Crucible", that's exactly what I did, and it's outstanding to hear their evolution as a band.
Either way, start with the single and work your way back because it's way more fun that way, and keep a lookout for the EP dropping in February which, as far as we know is going to be called Light The Space Left Behind.
So, stop reading and start listening.
