Beachy Head - Beachy Head: Review
Beachy Head
is a new super grous project bringing together members of Slowdive (and Slowdive infused super-group The Soft Cavalry) with members of The Flaming Lips and Casket Girls. The collaboration was announced just last month though it received three singles. The debut album is slim with just 8 tracks under 30 minutes but has plenty of promise and poise among its ranks to deliver something special.
Review By Lav:
It's no secret I'm a big fan of shoegaze, it's also no secret I'm a huge fan of Slowdive. Pretty much everything Slowdive vocalist Rachel Goswell has ever done from Minor Victories to Mojave 3, The Soft Cavalry and even her solo material I've found to be enjoyable at minimum. Continuing my likeliness to to enjoy mostly everything she touches I dove into Beachy Head excited about what she may be offering. Ultimately the record doesn't do a whole lot with its short runtime, delivering wiry, dreamy shoegaze reminiscent of the original projects of its members.
Michael is the first real hit in the tracklist which is instrumentally heavy on account of its dense mix and isn't afraid to show it right out of the gate. There is a legitimate grit to the performances that make the track a pretty serious hard-hitter, and it erupts into a blissful chorus like a shoegaze classic. The layering also does a great job to keep it feeling quite hazy particularly in the long instrumental outro. A lot of the record is pretty inconsistent but it's best pair of tracks are probably its final two. Hiddensee has an absolutely sweet guitar riff that gets stuck in my head every single time I hear it. It's probably the best example of the records wiry sonic approach and I really enjoy it particularly when the icy keys fly in on the back half of the track. It's one of the busiest yet most rewarding songs the album has to offer. Finally there's the closing track Destroy Us which has an eerie, atmospheric haze hovering over the track and some of the records most anthemic drumming. The song is infectious and the hook cuts through the haze in an absolutely beautiful way that ends the record off right.
Warning Bell isn't a bad intro track with chimes and rattling drums. It's a bit of a slow developing piece for something under 4 minutes but generally speaking I think it's alright. Generally when the record strips it back it makes for some of the lesser tracks here but All Gone is the exception. It's quite a ballad like cut with airy vocals and prominent acoustic guitar. There is still a pretty dense atmosphere backing the track which features distant guitar wailing that is undoubtedly nostalgic for shoegaze fans like me. It's a compelling dichotomy that makes for an interesting sound. Distraction is a looser cut as well with plenty of space for instrumental wandering. The vocals are quite dramatic and you wouldn't be wrong to say they sound like their taking themselves a little too seriously, but I don't find it so distracting as to ruin the things I like about the song.
Looking For Exits is the poppiest cut here with vocal refrains that almost sound like surf rock. I'm not head over heels for any one element of the song individually and what they add up to is just okay. On top of this the track sort of randomly checks out on the back end and makes for a dry conclusion. Finally there's October an incredibly stripped back cut that feels way too aimless for it's own good. It sort of wanders lackadaisically through a few minutes of air instrumentation without settling really strongly on anything. I understand the appeal and the intent behind making a song like this but the moment to moment sound didn't particularly satisfy me.
The double-edged sword of being a huge fan of a particular music genre is that it can often be difficult for that music to really impress you. While the talent of these veterans comes together to form something very effective there aren't any tracks on the album that necessarily blow me away. It feels really similar to Rachel's 2019 The Soft Cavalry project in sound, but I feel like they have a different approach to consistency. Where that record has some serious highlights but some notable lows, this record is mostly solid throughout, likely a credit to the status of the players involved in its creation. Any shoegaze of dreampop fans are sure to find plenty about these tracks to enjoy, even if they won't likely find anything they've never heard before. 6/10
