One of the features of music made in the denser, more intense realms of shoegaze is a kind of intentional lack of clarity, a blurring (ha) of demarcations, like sonic coloring in deliberately going over the lines. And while some see music surrendering to more emotive urges, cocooning sounds that evoke claustrophobia, others see it as a lack of definition. It’s the ever-present trade-off that faces all who step foot in the genre.
But Waves Crashing proves that there is a point where the melody of the alt-rock world and the immersive experience of the gaze-lands meet in perfect harmony. And with this idea as their creative tether, In The Blur is forged on a sliding scale around this point.
And so, we get songs such as the grunge-meets-dream-rock opener “Feel The Glow,” which blends urgent bass with oppressive guitars, but also features passages where the clouds part and the sonic sunlight filters through. And, at the other end of the spectrum, we get the cleaner, indie-gorgeousness of “Marine Garden,” a song that revels in pathos and haze.
“Out & Away” bolts Ride-esque lysergic textures onto a bass and beat reminiscent of The Cure’s finest early work, “Coming Up for Air” seems to touch all the markers – deftness and deluge, clarity and confusion – and by the time we get to “Creep,” you have to remind yourself that this is a cover, so readily does it fit into their world.
Waves Crashing has always been a hot prospect, In The Blur more than lives up to the faith we have put in them. The next chapter starts here.
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