Various Artists - Static Waves 4 (Saint Marie Records)

Reviewing a Saint Marie compilation is always a massive undertaking because they are such sonically dense recordings. This outing is three disks and 33 songs chock full of gorgeous dream pop, shoegaze, and atmospheric soundscapes. Familiar artists (Static Daydream, Presents for Sally, Secret Shine) and less familiar bands (Whimsical, Orange) populate this release with the usual high quality music you can expect from this not so little (anymore) Texas imprint. Curated by the inimitable Wyatt Parkins with his usual exquisite taste, this is a veritable feast for all fans of these bands and the aforementioned genres.

As I’ve done in the past, I will touch on what the highlights were for me; your mileage will surely vary. Starting off Disk 1 with their name scooped from a Slowdive song is When The Sun Hits with “Immersed Within Your Eyes”. It is a good opener, an echoing tapestry with the requisite reverb and shadowy sonics. The Capsules offer up a pretty, keyboard driven song with “Moving On”, while Difference Engine brings us “Bug Powder” from their Breadmaker album (reissued this year on Saint Marie). The latter band is not one I followed back in the day, so I’m happy to have the reissue and this really swell tune on here. Strata Florida returns with a great new tune called “Caroline”, with cool percussion and neat double-tracked guitar. Louise has a gauzy voice that perfectly suits this material, and it’s a welcome addition to their discography. Scotland’s insanely loud Cherry Wave toss a “Blissbomb” on our unsuspecting ears, and manage to blow the roof off. Vocals are buried deep and layers of feedback assault the listener gently, but the melody here is king and carries the song through. Carta soothes the senses with the lovely instrumental “Ditmas”, which approaches post rock territory. Germany’s premier shoegazers, Seasurfer, give us the gift of the dreamy “The Roads We Take*, and it is heavenly indeed. Layer upon layer of guitar and keyboard complement Julia Beyer’s beautiful voice. The Emerald Down serve up their first new song in 13 years with “Turn Away*, and it is grand stuff indeed. Elegantly restrained guitar backs up Rebecca Basye, whose soothing voice suits their brand of dreamgaze admirably.

Skipping to Disk 2, we have some beautiful noise from Texas with Bloody Knives and their new song “Reflection Lies”. Billowing waves of feedback war politely with Preston Maddox’s gentle vocals, a cool contrast to be sure. Elika’s “Closer” is lovely and familiar, and I really like the way the quieter passages are turned inside out with the fuzzed out guitar lines. The reliable and excellent Spotlight Kid don’t disappoint with their stunning turn on “The Train Down”. Katty Heath’s blissed out vocals remind me of MBV’s guitar riffs, if you can believe that. I also like the spacey synth pop of “Juno Beach” by Snow in Mexico. Jeff Runnings of For Against does an admirable job with his psychedelic synth pop on “Outside Oslo (Vista Mix)”; am so glad he’s joined the label. And then we have the classic “Spellbound” from long time favorites Secret Shine, first released in 1993 on their Untouched album on Sarah Records and reissued on Saint Marie in 2015. We Need Secrets unfurl “Fiesta Red (Demo)” with some hard-driving guitar, and Crash City Saints close Disk 2 with “The Unsolemn Vow”, a hook-laden tune with riffs that may ring a familiar bell in your head. The song shifts into orchestral space mode toward the end and then comes back to the main melody. Very cool tune!

Disk 3 starts off with “Starwheel” from Orange and it has a pretty, childlike quality to it. SPC-ECO have the new, slow burning dream pop of “Sling Me Down” for our listening pleasure, and then Echodrone unleashes the beautiful new tune “A Straining Anthem” with stately hooks and nicely arranged vocals. Thee Koukouvaya brings us the pretty and lengthy instrumental “Argos”, with dazzling and spacey atmospherics. Cloud From the Sea, Anna Bouchard’s solo electronic effort, follows with a brand new offering called “Peaking”. I can only describe it as ethereal dream pop married to lush layers of synth, all topped with her angelic vocals and adding up to quite the treat. Whimsical is a northern Indiana group who ended in the early 2000s after one album and a single. Their cool brand of shoegaze works well here, with the lovely tune “Surreal” slated to also appear on their upcoming second album. One of my favorite groups from the Saint Marie stable, Portland’s great High Violets treat us to the sparkling unreleased tune entitled “Sublime Haze”. The title describes the tune perfectly, and it contains all the hallmarks of great shoegaze: layer upon layer of breathtaking sonics, lush piles of guitar, and heavily reverbed vocal choirs. I also enjoyed the trippy instrumental “Wax Copy of Herself” from ASAKS. It just floated by effortlessly, as all good music does. I also really liked Deardarkhead’s hard hitting “Juxta Mare”, a beautiful bloom of kaleidoscopic sound that stayed fixed long after the last notes faded away. England’s always excellent Presents For Sally has whipped up another delightful confection called “There’s No Other Place”, leaning more toward the Slowdive end of the dream pop spectrum, yet incorporating elements of the psych-tinged shoegaze they also specialize in. Just splendid! Another label favorite of mine, Fredericksburg, VA group Static Daydream close out this disk with a new tune, “The Night Closes In”. Pulling elements from Paul Baker’s work with both Skywave and Ceremony, it is dense and dark psychgaze with immense waves of feedback and interwoven with a strong central melody. Another great tune!

In summary, this is another awesome and multi-hued sonic collection of tunes from possibly my favorite label ever! Thanks to Wyatt and all the artists here for their contributions.