For a guy who says he's tired of shoegaze I am occasionally reminded of just how wonderful the genre can be. One such time was my first listen to "Vision Scraps", a cut here on the new album from Lightning Bug, October Song. And while that song absolutely floored me, the rest of the album, out on Friday via Marbled Arm, is just as compelling.
"The Lotus Eaters" is breathy and reminiscent of Broadcast, while "Vision Scraps" is a roaring homage to Lilys and My Bloody Valentine. It is an extraordinary track, really. Lighting Bug is mainly Audrey Kang, along with friends Kevin Copeland and Logan Miley, and the New York band crank out tunes that are as light as air (the lovely "The Roundness of Days"), as well as others ("The Root") that suggest Seafeel more than the obvious shoegaze reference-points. Kang wisely varies the material on October Song, going from the new folk of "September Song" to the fuzzier "I Looked Too Long", thereby refusing to let this band's output be pigeonholed as simply that of a shoegaze revival act.
October Song is out on Friday via Marbled Arm.
More details on Lightning Bug via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Charlie Rivera}