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AlbumREVIEWS: 'HOLY NOISE'
The European-originated shoegaze genre has a good amount of fandom in Indonesia, as the Holy Noise compilation attests
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The European-originated shoegaze genre has a good amount of fandom in Indonesia, as the Holy Noise compilation attests.
Released by promising new independent label, Anoa Records, the album sees 14 local bands showcasing their take on a genre that is all about beautiful melodies buried under a sonic haze of dreamy noise.
Though somewhat uneven in track quality ' as is the wont of compilation albums ' Holy Noise stays a welcome addition to the increasing number of local-scene-representation compilations with both older and newer bands participating.
Produced only on the currently trendy cassette tape form, the record covers the wide spectrum of Shoegazer music.
There is everything from more straight-ahead rockers with whispered harmonies, harsher electronic driven tracks, purposely lo-fidelity entries that is more about attitude than apparent catchiness, to moody romantic jangles.
Some entries are more shaped than others, in both production and songwriting. Standouts such as Sharespring's 'May Dear' and Black Mustang's 'Fade Away' reveal a strong sense of self, with confident execution, immediate hooks on both vocals and instruments and balanced production qualities that bring out the best from the tracks.
The former serving up a good-dose of effects-driven post grunge, a la UK once-promising wonders My Vitriol with a propulsive track, while the latter a garage-y rocker with confident down-strums and Euro-rock quasi-snobbishness reminiscent of a simpler Dandy Warhols.
Even when the ingredients are made clear (most of these tracks' international counterpart roots are noticeable without being too derivative), the record's standouts offer conviction on par with the best US or UK contemporary shoegazer acts.
The best of these include Mellon Yellow, whose 'The Longest Yard' is a gorgeous balance of melancholic layered vocals, driving rhythms and engaging wall of feedback, noise and open chordings, and Kapsul's 'Martir', which lo-fidelity recording doesn't hide its instantaneous melodies and minor-chord glowering.
Spacier tracks that harkens back to late 1980s and early 1990s UK-bound shoegaze also abound: harsher, grumpier and more drug-ridden. One of the oldest bands here, Astrolab, offers up the trippy 'Earline', filled with single-note riffs, shaky tambourine, barely there vocals and heavy synthesizer ambience.
While Aji Gergaji ' of old-schoolers The Milo, arguably one of the country's most well-known shoegazer acts ' serve up 'Pandora (Extended)', an elegiac, piano-and-vocals-only track that sustains its Gothic mood throughout with operatic female vocals courtesy of Yustie and downer lyrics that talk of being 'Not impressed'.
Other, more-jangly entries take a back seat to more patient entries. Poptart's 'Silensium' rests on its marching rhythms and chorus-heavy vocals and stuttering guitars. It feels limper yet still memorable compared to the rest of the entry here, as does Intenna's contemporary post-rock aping 'Memar' (Bruise), which is heavy on pitch changes and operatic pseudo-Goth vocals, slightly reminiscent of Mazzy Star.
The record ends on a high note with newcomer Seaside's slow-lurching 'A Blue Star', which moves at a snail's pace with its sing-speak vocals and synth-string layers.
Holy Noise provides a very welcome summary not only of the Indonesian shoegazer scene, but also of the wide scope of the underground. Not only do most of the entries already manage to build a sense of character that is uniquely theirs, but they sound different from one another. For a genre-driven compilation, the record sounds surprisingly variable, with very few dull pieces on its way.
