Endless Wave
Notes From the Compound
Boston, MA
“Bringing shoegaze to the non-believers”
Although Boston’s Endless Wave have been getting a lot of attention as a shoegaze band, it wouldn’t be completely fair to isolate them in that corner of the music realm. Sure, the group touts elements that shoegaze is comprised of. But underneath the wiry, whammy-barred guitar spurts or snare-heavy rhythm section, the group is built solidly on top of pop sensibilities. Notes From the Compound, the band’s latest offering, leans heavily on the precise rhythm section of Andre Obin on bass and Tucker Dawson on drums.
As a vocalist, Obin echoes a familiar, dreamy softness, but with more emphasis on melody and clarity than you see in the dissonant vocals on which shoegaze acts like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine pride themselves. Guitarist Tim Ryan fills in more than one player’s fair share of empty space with reverb-soaked, more-delayed-than-not riffs. At its best, the band sounds powerful and self-assured in tracks like opener “Land of the Sun” and “The Rising Tide.” It’s when the Notes starts to wander and wind down in tracks like “Minor Man” and “Secrets” that the trio formula has its limits in dramatic, dreamy pop. (Fort Point Recordings)
Produced by Paul Q. Kolderie, Alex Hartman and Adam Taylor
Recorded at Camp Street Studios in Cambridge, MA