I freely admit that The Shop Window has me squarely under their spell. Across two prior LPs and new singles, the jangle-pop/shoegaze outfit adeptly mines a seemingly endless well of catchy melodies, soaring vocal harmonies, and heartfelt lyrics.
With the new single, “Blues”, we’re treated to the fourth and final track to be released ahead of their new double album, ”Daysdream”, arriving May 3rd. [Spoiler alert: this is the best LP of the three. Full review coming soon!]
TSW’s frontman, Carl Mann frequently bears his soul on the new album, which is one of the reason’s TSW’s music draws listeners in. With “Blues”, he sums up the lyrics as follows:
“It’s about those situations that are beyond your control, that can cause hiccups in even the strongest of relationship bonds. I’m terrible at dealing with conflict and strive for balance and love to be restored as quickly as possible.”
Musically, “Blues” comes out of the band’s adoration of the 90s Britpop, indie-pop, and shoegaze scenes in Britain. You’ll definitely hear elements of RIDE and Teenage Fanclub, as well as late 80s-era Close Lobsters. Chiming guitars are the order of the day here. Paired with a dusting of background keys, lush harmonies in the chorus give the tune a lightness that is sealed with the lyrical refrain, “…you give me everything to take the blues away.”
Stream the four singles so far, including “Blues” here:
Links
