Ready for a bigger bite of the melodic, shoegazing market, Singapore’s Gnaw introduces itself with a glittering four-song debut EP full of crunchy, swerving guitars and noisy geysers of euphoric pop hooks. It towers as high as the skyscrapers of the place they call home.
If there is a ghost Inside a Machine That’s Glistening, it’s undoubtedly vocalist Tara Tan, whose clear, blissful coo haunts and soothes, as it’s swept up in the chaos and surging dynamics of “Gash” – beautifully bent out of shape as it suddenly rises to dizzying heights, a bridge of sweet intimacy transformed into a tortured, twisted mass – and the colossal psychedelic wash of the dark, cosmic closer “This is My Life Now.” The latter powers down, entering an expansive clearing framed by digital crackle, before blowing up in a dense mushroom cloud of rapturous cacophony and vivid sound. Gnaw’s ambition is utterly breathtaking.
The same could be said for their audacity, as Gnaw eagerly joins the ranks of melodic, shoegazing powerhouses Wishy, Momma and Hotline TNT, wondering if fame – if it should come their way – will go to their heads. At the same time, Gnaw wrings its hands, worrying about everything and romantic about being alive and in love, capable of so much, including disaster and disillusionment.
Who, though, has time for such distracted musings, as Gnaw courts rock ‘n roll immortality on “Star,” with its heavy, snaking churn and dreamy bombast. Adept at lushly layering thick, ever-evolving riffs and harsh electronica, the whole immersive, flowing thing distorted to the hilt, Gnaw lets it all hang out on “Treats,” the loudest, most visceral track here, and the most thrilling. Getting trapped Inside a Machine That’s Glistening wouldn’t be so bad.
