Any self-respecting shoegazer might be glad their genre of music was still being talked about 25 years into the 21st century. A genre where the term ‘shoegazing’ followed shows in which the bands performing seemed in “a state of trance by the footwear lurking semi-motionless beneath their low-slung guitars”. Or maybe it was just that they were performing damn good music, as many of us who had followed the scene would have to agree. Well, Vancouver’s 604 Records have released MOVIELAND’s Then And Now, a retrospective of work produced by this British Columbia band. Perhaps I was from the wrong side of the pond, as before the trend of social media, this band had failed to find my radar back in the day. However, having been allowed to work on this article, I can say how gratifying it has been to examine their musical intricacies and musical leanings, so much so that last Christmas I spent a decidedly shoegaze festive season and it was like the genre had never been away.
Then And Now is a collection of 10 tracks (including 1 reworked number), and shows off just what we have been missing. And for certain, what I, personally, have been missing are dreamy vocals, hard-driven guitar and hypnotic beats. From the outset, ‘Hello’ displays the band’s ability to draw from influences around them to create their take on this music and do it so very well. The second track, ”Rant’ introduces vocal distortion, which displays similarities to The Jesus and Mary Chain. ‘San Francisco’ sits at track 3 and is a key change from the earlier numbers; exhibiting a far more uptempo refrain, with indie at its heart. Next comes ‘Everything’ and rather than ‘straight out of the box’ indie, this number shows a far darker refrain, glorious guitar, with a beat that will have air drumming brought back to wherever you’re listening. I love this one and I’m sure so will you. As the vocalist sings ‘…I want you…” the guitar displays fine use of wah-wah, it’s just lovely.
‘I Relate’ is next and heads further down that darker path where shoegazing was so often heard. This track offers just about the whole shebang, from dreamy vocals, a bassline you could swing from and an ambient soup familiar to My Bloody Valentine. Why this band didn’t achieve more, is just criminal. Want some cake? Well, this band has got that too, as ‘Cake‘ is what follows. This time the heavier tone is what follows, played in a room where the lights are turned off, as the feedback offers familiarity to the music played, as a dreamy vocal performs over all of this apparent chaos. ‘(A Sort Of) Icarus’ appears out of the darkness and rather than flying too close to the sun, creates a whirlwind found within its musical backing, to fashion a number that epitomises the music of its day. ‘Build Me A Dream’ is another that, with its thick musical canvas and wave after wave of guitar, reminds of Kevin Shields and co. The penultimate track is ‘She’s A Mountain’, again displaying echoes familiar to the formerly mentioned MBV, with treble maxed on the controls, and a dreamy vocal beneath the guitar and drum. This serves as a reminder of just how full-on this genre could be and how lost the player and listener could become in the music. Finally, it’s that reworked number, this time it’s ‘I Relate‘ that serves as a bookend to the album. Referred to as ‘I Relate (Soft)’, between you and I, these 2 versions bear very little difference and seem a case of blink and you’ll miss it. Both mixes are very good all the same, so I’ve included a YouTube link to their video.
In essence, MOVIELAND have recorded several very good takes on the genre and although perhaps slightly behind the curve that saw bands like My Bloody Valentine, Chapterhouse, Ride, Revolver, Moose, Swervedriver and many others play in dark venues across the country and beyond, this is a very good set of songs, that will bring back a misspent youth for some, while igniting a passion for guitar, drum and bass, played in a sea of sound, for others.
