If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Aileen Lam One of the negative aspects of having a music blog is that you start discovering bands from all over the world that you'll never get the chance to see live. It's fairly cost prohibitive for a band to fly across an ocean all the way to the U.S. to tour small clubs, and given everything going on right now, I certainly wouldn't expect a band to fly all the way over here since who knows what could happen. Imagine my surprise and delight when Lucid Express announced they were coming to the U.S. to tour, and were playing the tiny O'Brien's in Allston. Opening the show was Boston's own Sophie's Body. They were a band I was completely unfamiliar with but they quickly won me over with their bubblegrunge sound. It was a fun, quick set filled with fuzzy indie rock gems with a strong pop streak. Vocalist Sophie McMinn implored the crowd to dance, but the Boston hipster crowd isn't known for its willingness to dance. By the end, many in the crowd ...

Artist : Out of Place Artefacts Album : A Complex Interplay of Zeros and Ones Quick Thoughts : It's hard for me to write about music electronic music normally, so my intentions for highlighting Out of Place Artefacts this week is less about how good the album is and more about how it combines everything I love about excellent electronic music all at once. It's equal parts complex and abrasive while nevertheless having strong, coherent throughlines and great beats. It borrows a little bit of everything from everywhere and that's hard to do in any genre, never mind one with so many expectations / no expectations at all. Worth an adventurous listen. Songs of Note : "Closed Loop Grids," "Panopticon," "Healing of a Ghost," "Wunschmachine," "Help is On the Way," "Quantum Waltz" Artist : Lucid Express Album : Instant Comfort Quick Thoughts : 2026 is quickly working itself out to be the Year of Shoegaze, wi...

Photo by Aileen Lam Lucid Express are quickly becoming one of our favorite bands with a classic shoegaze sound. The Hong Kong band just released a new single, "Faux Sweetness." The new song has all of the fuzz and warmth we want with classic shoegaze, even though it leans into the poppier side of the genre. Despite how we music writers tend to feel about saying something is poppy, in the case of "Faux Sweetness" it's an asset. It only helps make the song even more lovely, and it's only poppy in the way a band like My Bloody Valentine had some songs that were poppy. If you love shoegaze and would like to see the classic version moved into the modern era, Lucid Express are going to be a godsend for you. Vocalist Kim Ho says of the new single: "o n 'Faux Sweetness' we return to some of our earliest indie pop influences while also mixing in some of the darker sounds we've picked up over years of experimenting in our studio space. It kind of led ...

Photo by Aileen Lam The trend in shoegaze these days is to mix up the formula and cross pollinate it with other musical genres. Hong Kong's Lucid Express aren't doing that on "Something Blue," and have released one of the most pure shoegaze songs of the year. The song feels like you're dreaming. It's hazy and fuzzy, with just the right amount of loud/quiet/loud. The feedback squall that telegraphed the first loud chorus was just about perfect, and gave me some 90's college flashbacks. "Something Blue" is a gorgeous and breathtaking track, and fans of classic shoegaze are going to be transfixed by Lucid Express. You can watch the video for "Something Blue" below. Instant Comfort is due out February 20 on Kanine Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Lucid Express, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .