Thursday / Envy - "Split LP+CD" CD

Arriving as a nifty and highly collectible 180-gram vinyl LP (the CD is included as a bonus), this split release showcases a pair of bands from two very different backgrounds who (soundwise) share a similar dynamic and direction. New Jersey post-hardcore/emo-gazer group Thursday present the first 4 tracks. Their 'In Silence' is an atmospheric slice of instrumental sweetness accented by what sounds like a heart machine as a metronome - clever and dramatic. 'An Absurd And Unrealistic Dream Of Peace' returns to the rock with Geoff Rickly's tortured vocals and the band's trademark aggressive-yet-melodic approach. Thursday's final song here, 'Appeared And Was Gone' was remixed by Anthony Molina of Mercury Rev, and it begins as a lovely and woozy piece of piano-driven sadness, with trippy electronic effects filtering through until the huge conclusion, which brings down the house with an almost Sigur Ros-style momentum. It's a dramatic and stunning freefall into the abyss - both beautiful and frightening, somehow. Brilliant work.
Japanese act Envy's hardcore/post-rock side begins sweetly, with 'An Umbrella Fallen Into Fiction' - a light and airy yet contemplative piece that steadily swells into a huge screamo/shoegaze monster, complete with death-metal style vocals. It's an odd juxtaposition of the beautiful guitar melodies with grating vox, but it seems to work for Envy. Imagine Mono with gutteral vocals during the crescendos. You'll love it or hate it, I'd bet. Their other tracks follow a similar pattern, with 'Pure Birth And Loneliness' being a particularly skyward explosion of melody, martial drumming, and sad whisper/screamed vocals. Solid and epic work all around, and a must-have for fans of either group. (Temporary Residence)

Resplandor - "Pleamar" CD

Some rather superb and deep shoegaze sounds from, of all places, Lima, Peru! Boasting of production and mixing by one Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), these songs shimmer and drone like long-long cousins of Slowdive's prime material. And while they aren't as innovative as Slowdive (it IS 15 years later, of course), Resplandor are just about as good. Take that as some serious praise.

And, like that influential group, the vocals here are little more than a series of echoes, coos, and breathy 'baaaah's. That said, I do detect some English lyrics (maybe), but in reality, who cares? The music is simply heavenly, drifty, melodic, and soothing in a womblike way. The title track singes, sizzles, and burns with heavily-effected guitars while epic drones encase the whole sound into a cohesive whole, and the melody oozes out. This is a must-have for anyone who laments the lack of new material from My Bloody Valentine.

'Boreal' incorporates some glitchy electronics into the mix, and effectively places Resplandor outside the realm of purely 'retro' acts and nudges them into the future. I've seldom heard such a convincing melding of ambient guitar washes and swollen drone/noise. I'll be investigating this band further. I just want to turn it up loud and drift off (and away). (Automatic Entertainment)


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