There are a lot of preconceived notions that come with declaring an album or artist “shoegaze.” Reading that term usually means slower, brooding songs with vocals masked by reverb (not a bad thing). However, classifying Kindling’s sound as such might be a little reductive. The hooks are bigger, the guitars are heavier, and the drum fills hit harder.
For the last three years, the Easthampton, Massachusetts group fronted by Gretchen Williams and Stephen Pierce has been steadily releasing music under the name Kindling, including several split seven-inches and a few LPs. However, for their latest album Hush, the band reached back to their roots in Black Sabbath and Pierce’s background in the hardcore scene, employing the assistance of a few outside-the-box instruments like sitar and mellotron to expand their sonic palette.
This reinvention is evident in the track “For Olive,” which we’re happy to be exclusively premiering below. Beginning with the sound of a guitar being plugged into an amplified, the stagnant, silent air is quickly torn apart by heavily distorted lead guitars and smashing drums before the entrance of beautiful reverb-doused harmonies from Pierce and Williams that drive the track’s nearly four minutes. Check it out below.
Hush is out 11/10 on 6131 Records. Pre-order it here and be sure to catch the band on their upcoming tour, the date for which are below.
11/09 New Haven CT @ Three Sheets
11/10 Brooklyn NY @ Trans-Pecos
11/11 Florence MA @ 13th Floor
11/12 Providence RI @ News Cafe
11/16 Burlington VT @ Speaking Volumes
11/17 Sherbrooke QC @ Le Murdoch
11/18 Montreal QC @ Atomic Cafe
11/19 Cambridge MA @ TBA
