Customer Reviews

Tearwave

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tearwave make music for the days when shadows lengthen on the walls. Life in upstate New York appears to have seeped into the band's soul as their debut album is rife with bleak winters, sullen desperation, and glimmers of beauty just gone by. However, Tearwave do not simply mine the tropes of the shoegaze genre in imitation of other group's past glories. Rather, they offer a few unique twists on the familiar territory of ethereal goth; the guitar work features a nice blend of deep, hazy chorus and stark acoustics, and the percussion is unusually strong. And Jenn Manganiello's voice is as lovely and melodic as anyone working in a similar vein. At times distant, at times viscerally immediate, Tearwave's dream-like shoegaze will appeal to parched ears thirsting for shimmering textures and melancholic musings.

I've been a big fan of Mira, Love Spirals Downward, Autums' Grey Solace etc for some time. Not much has gotten my attention of late in the Shoegazing genre until I heard of Tearwave. The music is a great combination of wonderful vocals overlaid over spiraling guitars. Solid music with a fair amount of variation. If you happen to be trying to decide between this and their second CD go with this one. Not only are the songs more varied but the sonics are much better. While not Mira Apart this CD gets plenty cloes for me.

Tearwave is a good album by what could become a very good band. The group caught my attention when a review likened them to LUSH, one of my favorite bands, so I listened to some clips and decided to buy it. I wouldn't say LUSh comes to mind exactly, nor would I put too much similarity with the "shoe gaze" style music of the late 80's and 90's, but the band has a deeply effect driven sound and female vocals that do share some of the qualities of other bands. At times the music reminds me of Cocteau Twins and even Amber Asylum or Lovespirals Downwards but to make too many comparisons would be unfair as the group offers some new twists of thier own and definately has thier own unique style, both lyricall and aurally. It is a pretty record, a good one for falling asleep too (if you can let yourself, I have a hard time sometimes becasue I want to ehar the next song or one again)or for driving or anything. I like alot of the Projekt stuff, mainly Lovespirals and Faith andd the Muse and the like, and this sia good addition to a collection if you like the haunting female vocal melodies- though the feel is not "goth" (thankfully) or pop or anything. Tearwave could easily find themselves creating a niche of thier own in the music community and I am anxious to see what they do next to follow up a superb first album.

Most of the songs on this album are beautiful - breathy and easygoing. The guitars in particular send an ethereal shudder through me when listening to several songs. However, I feel that occasionally the singer loses her sense of melody. She has a tendency to meander on in a way that does not always complement the music - sometimes it's okay to let the guitar shine through. That said, her voice is pretty. Occasionally the reverb enhances the sound of her breathing itself too much, and it can jar me out of the reverie otherwise created by the lovely music.

There are a few standout five-star songs on this album that I think defeat every song ever created by Lush. They are:

"Lady Aurora" which contains not only extraordinary, luscious loveliness from the guitar and vocals, but a deep, emotional power in the drum part.

"Dream Bliss" which is at once joyous and gorgeous. Simply a pleasure to listen to on all counts. It is intensely true to its title.

"Lotus Flower" is not quite as high on my list as the other two, but has that something special that I look for in shoegaze - it really draws me in to another, ethereal world.

The whole album in general is a relaxing mood elevator. It's not upbeat in the traditional way - but it is certainly positive music, full of the simple joy of beauty.