Sometimes, usually just as I'm complaining about there being too many shoegaze bands, a new one will come along who will do the form so well that I'm forced to eat my words. Mexico City's Mint Field are one such band. Their newest release, Sentimiento Mundial, drops on Friday and it is positively superb. The record brims with as much invention as shoegaze has seen in ages.
"Natural" swings in, a mid-tempo leap over the abyss, while the elegant "Delicadeza" marries breathy vocals with deliberate instrumentation. While "Contingencia" is anchored by an infectious, reasonbly hard rhythmic pattern, the lovelier "Aterrizar" sounded to me like very early Velocity Girl, only with lyrics sung in Spanish. Elsewhere, the title cut ambles with a kind of chamber pop elegance, while "Nadie te esta persiguiendo" works up a real head of steam. The interplay of guitars is ferocious for moments here, and Mint Field reveal that there's real power up their sleeves.
The players -- Estrella del Sol Sánchez (Guitars, Vocals), Sebastian Neyra (Bass) & Callum Brown (Drums) -- modulate every number of this album with a real mastery of this style of music. Where a lesser band might up the feedback in an attempt to sort of cheat at their shoegaze effect-making, Mint Field wisely have focused on crafting songs that are sharp and beautiful. The moments of real shoegaze force here are sprinkled throughout the compositions, such that one is almost surprised when they burst forth. And for that reason, I found the entire record a real pleasure to listen to, one which surprised me in how it approached this genre.
Sentimiento Mundial is out on Friday via Felte.
More details on Mint Field via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Mint Field Facebook page]