Portland, Oregon group Tears Run Rings are not a Marc Almond cover band as their name might suggest. No, they are an American shoegaze outfit who have updated the template crafted originally by bands like Pale Saints and Slowdive. Their newest album, Everyhting in the End, is a thorough recap of the charms of this four-piece, and a helluva listen.
Matthew Bice (vocals, guitar), Laura Watling (vocals, bass), Ed Mazzucco (guitar), and Dwayne Palasek (drums) work up an energetic approach on "Another Life", a heady bit of fuzzy dream-pop, even as "Abandon", with lead vocals by Laura, is a breathy delight. That one, and the modestly catchy "How Will We Know" are the highlights here for me, the sound of this offit suggesting early Slowdive with a dash of "Light from a Dead Star"-era Lush.
With two members of the band the folks behind the superb Shelflife Records imprint, I don't think there was any doubt that this record was going to be good. What is a surprise here is just how much juice is still left in these forms, and how deftly Tears Run Rings extract it. There's stuff here that one can get happily lost in, even as other tracks churn with an admirable fire. That these folks are fans of these genres is clear, and even so, Tears Run Rings manage to put a distinctive spin on the kind of music we all grew up on and still love.
Everything in the End by Tears Run Rings is out now. Details below.
[Photo: Janice Headley]