Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
From the Mile High city of Denver, Colorado comes the etheral four-piece, A Shoreline Dream. When one thinks of DIY bands, punk rockers usually come to mind, but this band has its own label, Latenight Weeknight Records, and has come very far in a short time.
In just one year, ASD has won critical acclaim by everyone from XLR8R to Filter Magazine for their LP Avoiding The Consequences, and SPIN magazine even praised remixes for the single "Love Is A Ghost In America." July 31, 2007 sees the release to its follow-up, the Coastal EP.
Listening to the EP's four tracks, and even some of their older tracks, it would be easy to pencil ASD as just another one of those American bands influenced by the predominately British shoegaze scene that peaked in the 1990s. But their sound deserves more than simple comparisons to Slowdive, Ride, or other stars of that movement. "New York" definitely has its Slowdive moments, but there are also traces of The Cure in "Aftershocking," and the loud moments of the EP, especially the moderate rocker "Ukraine," sounds somewhat like Mogwai in a shoegaze phase. Other soundscapes evoke comparisons to bands as varied as Sigur Ros, Trent Reznor, and Placebo.
While Coastal is only four tracks long, each song, with the exception of "Ukraine" (which can be found in PASTE magazine's July CD sampler), is well over five minutes long. It's enjoyable to listen to as a loop, as most of these giant-sounding tracks blend into each other like oceanic waves blend into the vast sea.
You can wait for the July 31 release date or have a listen to the whole EP, as well as check out their must see artwork, album photos, videos and the band bio at their official website, or visit their myspace page for more band info, as well as tracks from last year's highly praised release Avoiding The Consequences.
