The nineties influence on this one is strong, though given its Cocteau Twins inclinations you could reverse its sound back a few years too. Regardless a good song is a good song and ‘Lucky Mutation’ from Washington’s Blood Family Reunion is most definitely that. Slacker in its approach such is the falling down arrangements but it all hangs on a vocal line from Pam Carder that is simply majestic. The combination creates a dreampop concoction that will fuel escapism for those who can retreat into the fabric of a composition. It felt right from the off and come the end we were soaring. KH lucky ..read more

Well it got us right back in the last century alright, the last decade to be precise and for me it could well have been Lush such is the combination of the shimmer and the ethereal vocals from Australia’s Oceans. A proper gathering of nostalgic tones, swirls and the feeling of youthful exhibition so I’d have to count myself a hypocrite not to row in completely with what Oceans have produced. And that is down to my constant reliance on the 90’s for my aural satisfaction and ‘Mess You Up’ ticks pretty much every box in that department. Rose tinted glasses never felt so polished in 2024. KH May ..read more

There is a lot to be said for a good shoegaze effort, even better if the genre is taken forward because that is one thing that doesn’t appear to be high on the minds of its practitioners. So I quickly warmed to Belfast’s Wynona Bleach because amid the blaze of guitars and beats that could crack walls is a dreamier version of the lost and lonely vocal that we’ve come to associate with the 90’s founded genre. ‘Swim In The Bay’ is a big listen, an illuminating experience on headphones and projecting more than enough giddy action to have us returning endlessly. KH Swim in the Bay by Wynona Bleach ..read more

Oh so very Loveless of you, not immediately obvious but beyond the first 10 seconds of scene setting there was definitely the ghost of Kevin Shields at play from this Brisbane troupe. Where SGO depart a little is in the vocal deployment, which show little or no semblance of meaningful verbiage but which still feels as dreamy as can be. And that is down to the meeting of guitar squall and ethereal voice which will be an eternal desire of mine, especially when it is done with such finesse as ‘Glimmer’ displays here. KH mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlist! More Info: Official ..read more

Now that is a noisy rhapsody of the kind that reminds us of Ride back when they were kids making the sort of EPs the rest of us could only have dreamed of conjuring. In other words ‘Burn’ (as opposed to ‘Dreams Burnt Down’) is shoegaze laced, youthfully exuberant and with noise that is not produced for the sake of it because there is a real tune at the heart of it all. Top stuff from London’s Rainsong then, scratchy like an old 7-inch vinyl single and even more illuminating on headphones. What a vapour trail and with a vital message in tow. KH Burn by Rainsong mp3hugger’s best new music in ou ..read more

They near deafen us with their shoegaze noise, the rhapsody of chords turned out to maximum feedback and percussive arrangements that just heighten the effect. It gave me all sorts of Swervedriver flashbacks but you could also make a case for Ride and their noisy early EP’s. In short this is the early nineties restored via a Brooklyn act, vibrant detail aplenty and with the pleasing dreamy vocals there to take the edge off the rampaging instrumental cavalcade. BESTGIRL have nailed it, a track that does the old genre justice. KH mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlist! More Inf ..read more

Oh I do like the way the chords have been turned out on ‘Turning’, an electric strum but with nuance in there so we are definitely careering off into shoegaze territory. A little ‘Loveless’ from My Bloody Valentine, pretty much confirmed by the lost boy vocals but done with a melodic candidacy so being the 90’s obsessives it rang true. Yep, I can’t help myself when music like this approaches with the sole intention of bathing us in fuzzed out grandeur. Shoegaze alive in Brooklyn, NYC it seems. KH Haunt by Halogen Beaches mp3hugger’s best new music in 2022 playlist! More Info: Official Hear Mo ..read more

The dreamiest of confections from Toronto 3-piece SWiiMS but then that does appear to be their stock in trade and on this occasion they’ve gone all twee indie jangle on us and we love it. So ‘All I Die For’ has just the right amount of nostalgia and romance and done in a tunesome way to have the bespeckled types getting fogged over such is the beauty of the arrangement. Lo-fi dreams are made of moments such as this so as we close the bedroom door we aspire to open it again as soon as we have the wherewithal thanks to the inspiration here to tackle the world with renewed vigour. A lovely taste ..read more

Such woozy stuff, so very alt 90’s with more than a hint of Ride and their early EP’s so there is shoegaze to be lapped up and in some quantities. What I love most about ‘Lord of Shelves’ though is how noisy it is, never for one second letting the fervour drop and maintaining a sense of vocal melody (a la Mark Gardener) so no matter how those riffs screech we have a core of sweetness to sustain us. Not just right up out street this ‘Lord of Shelves’ is knocking on our front door. Perfect match from this New Zealand troupe. KH The Giant's Lawn by Wurld Series mp3hugger’s best new music in our ..read more

Of course the way it arrives fully fledged with chords ablazing and a generally claustrophobic arrangement we were getting spirited back to the early 90’s. The vocals sure confirmed that and made it so that we were in prime Slowdive territory but they rarely operated at this degree of momentum. Made for something fresh on an age old way of doing things and I was hooked because Goodbye Ranger understand the floppy fringed requirements. But they can also tweak it so that it never slips into tired territory. A song for headphones so the journey to bliss is assured. Taken from their debut EP, fun ..read more