Search - Serena Maneesh :: S-M 2 : Abyss in B Minor

Leaders of the Re-emergence of "Shoegaze"

Buyer | 05/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I deejayed on college radio at the time when bands such as Jesus & Mary Chain, Spacemen 3, Chameleons, Church, Sonic Youth and Cocteau Twins were coming on the scene. My Bloody Valentine was around at this time but no where on the radar screen - if you ever listened to their 1st album ("This Is Your ...), you'll know why. After I graduated, I recall the greatly underated Kitchens of Distinction releasing their first album but I totally missed My Bloody Valentine's "Isn't Anything" and accompanying EPs. However, soon enough I came across their classic song "Soon" on Sire's Just Say Yes sampler series. I was completely floored. I quickly picked up their EP Glider and waited impatiently for the release of Loveless. Hearing of this stupid term "Shoegaze", I devoured other bands such as Lush, Slowdive, Ride, Swervedriver, etc..



To me, these UK bands broke out into three camps - Lush/Slowdive followed the dream pop of Cocteau Twins. Ride/Swervedriver followed Sonic Youth, Loop infused with that driving "krautrock" motorik and then there was My Bloody Valentine. Loveless was the apex - the collision of violence and beauty - Cocteau Twins meets Husker Du with Eno at the controls. This was post-psychedelic, this was hypnagogic.



I have a huge collection of mostly unknown "shoegazer" bands from the past 20 years. A few U.K. bands such as the Verve, Seefeel and Moose broke out of the mold and found their own sound in the 90's.



This past decade, particularly in Brooklyn and Philly, there has been a renaissance of shoegazer music, a 3rd wave. Bands such as A Place To Bury Strangers, Soundpool, Meeting Places, Resplandor (Peru) turn the clock back 20 years.



Serena Maneesh (from Norway) come the closest to recreating what My Bloody Valentine did on Isn't Anything and Loveless. Several of you probably count yourselves lucky as I did to have seen My Bloody Valentine playing live again and many more like I have been waiting for Kevin Shields to remaster those two albums - my order for these on Amazon has been delayed now for like 2 years!





Although I buy tons of CDs from Amazon, I rarely write comments and I detest when people automatically assign 5 stars but I really think this album rises above the crowd. The mixing and production is amazing - you hear the different track layers flowing in and out of the mix. The couple reviews on this page mention that the album seems disjointed - this may come from Isn't Anything-type songs combined with Loveless-type songs. Also, I do agree with one of the reviewers that on the opening song, I do hear Vanishing Point-era Primal Scream w/Can motorik (but I also hear Seefeel-type guitar loops hovering above it). However, as the album progresses I get the same mood, the same feel as when I listen to Loveless and Tremelo. This is not bedroom 4-track nor is it bankrupt Creation records production, this is the brilliance of 4AD's renaissance for a new generation.



As you wade through all of the revivalists, this group stands out as having the most potential to go beyond "Loveless". Kevin Shields its time to get out of your creative slump!



(By the way, some of my peers out there should check out Church's Back With Two Beasts - no creative slump for these guys!)"

Although not as good as the first, SM# 2 still delivers an i

Omar Ortiz | 03/24/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is constantly clashing between sonic chaos and pop hooks that range from MBV to even Primal Scream on one track...to some that may be the biggest short coming of this album but I enjoyed hearing the conflict between the two throughout the album.

The tracks that stand well on their own are 2. " I just want to see your face" , 3. "Reprobate!" , 5. "Blow yr Brains in the morning rain" and 7." D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D" . Personally , I would choose "Reprobate" as the first single for this album over " I just want to see your face" because I feel that "Reprobate" does the best job of blending the pop and aggresiveness that seem to be going back and forth throughout the album. On "Reprobate!" the vocal melody is memorable and is followed by a jabbing bass line. "I just want to see your face" is a great pop song that opens up with a great little moment of fuzzy bass at transition from the first track to the second. " Blow your brains.." is the track that you get the primal scream , it's a pretty good plain ol bare bones rock and roll song. "D.I.W.S.W.T.T.D" is a great pop song with great vocals and interesting effects thrown in along with them.

Serena Maneesh's transition from their debut to their second album can be best compared with the transition These New Puritans went through after their first album. Both Serena Maneesh's and These New Puritan's debut albums allow the listener to skip around the album and hear plenty of good tracks that stand well on their own. Both Serena Maneesh's and These New Puritan's second albums work well if listened to in one sitting with a lot of attention dedicated to moments of greatness that can be heard throughout.

So , at the end of the day , SM#2 isn't necessarily a bad album...it all depends on how you take it in also if you have the patience to really tune into several moments of interesting things that can be heard throughout the album."