Is there room in this world for yet another dream pop band? Can the excellent Seablite share space in indie-pop-dom with another outift who are mining the same fertile vein of past glories? I'd say there is territory left to cover, especially when Austin band Blushing are involved. The group -- two pairs of spouses: Christina and Noe Carmona and Michelle and Jacob Soto -- give this familiar sounding material enough spark as to make it seem as exciting as this kind of thing did in the Nineties.
Lead single "Tamoagotchi" punches above its weight, the prettiness here lit on fire, while the very Ride-y "Slyce" has enough heft as to earn a raised eyebrow or two. While some prefer a sort of light, airy dream pop, Blushing anchor their robust sound in the heaviness elements of the sub-genre. Yes, this is lovely at times, with cooing vocals, but the guitars roar and the hooks are so big you can almost reach out and grab them.
I think some portion of the succes of Sugarcoat is down to engineering and mixing duties by Elliot Frazier (Ringo Deathstarr) and Mark Gardener (Ride), but even the best folks behind the desk couldn't save a band without such great tunes. Blushing find a way to make the Lush-ish "Silver Teeth" and the more down-tempo Cocteaus-y "Say When" seem new enough as to still thrill. And on "Pull You in Two" there's a hint of a slightly less fuzzy approach for Blushing. Though who'd want to forego volume for nuance, I'll never know!
Sugarcoat by Blushing is out now via Kanine Records.
[Photo: Alex Paradox]