Review: Various - Revolution: The Shoegaze Revival

The current revival of all things 'psych' is currently being matched by a rediscovery of that most introspective of scenes, 'shoegaze'. It must be said that I've always found the label 'shoegaze' a bit of a 'catch all' term: back in the eighties and nineties the term was used in reference to the filigree, ethereal Cocteau Twins AND the sonic assault of MBV. The term itself aside the scene produced some mighty fine bands; obviously the aforementioned Cocteaus and MBV, but also Ride, Loop, Swervedriver, Slowdive et al - all bands with a penchant for distortion, feedback and liberal use of effects pedals (thus the term 'shoegaze' - always looking groundwards at their pedals)

So, back to the here and now; Ear to Ear Records (Shauna McLarnon and Marc Joy of Ummagma) and Indonesia’s Gerpfast Kolektif label have grasped the burgeoning revival by the horns and curated an LP truly global in aspect - bands from 5 continents have contributed tracks to 'Revolution' and there are some beauties. There are 30 tracks in all and is as far-reaching in material as it is geographically. Therein lays another problem, as with all compilations - do I do a track-by-track breakdown or pickout the highlights? I will do the latter, with the caveat that all the artists / tracks do a fine job and there are no 'fillers' so apologies to those I do not mention - no reflection on them, just personal taste!! That being said, the bands / countries represented are:

//orangenoise (Pakistan)
Sounds of Sputnik (Russia)
The Yours (Hong Kong)
Trementina (Chile)
Ummagma (Canada-Ukraine)
Digilite (Indonesia)
Jaguwar (Germany)
Stellarscope (USA)
Spool (Japan)
Wozniak (Scotland)
Ether Feels (Japan)
Hideous Towns (Australia)
Lights That Change (Wales, UK)
Damascus (Indonesia)
Weird. (Italy)
Hermetic Delight (France)
Rev Rev Rev (Italy)
The Evening Primrose (Hong Kong)
Stella Diana (Italy)
Seaside (Indonesia)
Blood Lips (UK)
Magao (Japan)
Clustersun (Italy)
Duelectrum (Brazil)
Intenna (Indonesia)
Robsongs (Brazil)
Slow Motion Picture (USA)
Thud (Hong Kong)
Sharesprings (Indonesia)
Puna (Peru)

This smorgasbord of hazy, fuzzy, distortion-heavy tunes throws up some real gems; Magao‘s 'Dive to the Sea' gives us a wall of noise, heavy on the synths and with a typically lunatic Japanese feel, Germany's Jaguwar have obviously been listening to their MBV records on heavy rotation - 'Muffhead' has fuzz and discordant guitars and is fab!. On the more ethereal side of the shoegaze coin, Thud's 'Lime' is simply beautiful, and the Welsh Lights That Change track 'Theme 1 Stage 3' is sublime. Of the (very few) bands of whom I had already been aware Clustersun's 'Hipgnosis' is all throbbing bass lines and reverb-soaked guitars, Ummagma are as rock-solid as ever and it's easy to see why Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins) has had his interest piqued, and Russia's Sounds of Sputnik (ft Ummagma) provide a racy, spacey 'Overdrive'. My personal favourite has to be //orangenoise from Pakistan whose 'puking rainbows' is a heady mix of 60's psychedelia and shoegaze - a delightful combination of the old and the new, definitely a band to keep an eye on.

'Revolution' is a laudable project, making a mockery of the traditional US/UK/Eurocentric view of music, providing exposure to bands that would otherwise be overlooked by the mainstream; and these bands are good! There is plenty of quality and promise and has been curated with intelligence and respect - highly recommended! It is available on a 'pay what you want' basis over at Ear To Ear's bandcamp page, but do the right thing and slip 'em a few quid!