Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 20:49:32 -0600 From: a bear of very little brain (hk@NEOSOFT.COM) Subject: Pale Saints (was Re: RHP album info) Geoff Elgey wrote: > Also, how do Pale Saints sound? Someone told me that they have a similar > sound/style to RHP, but I haven't seen or heard any of their CD's over > here. What's the story? How do Pale Saints sound? In short, from totally sublime ('The Comforts of Madn ss') to depressingly pedestrian ('Slow Buildings'). I think they have more in similar to early Lush, Ride, and Boo Radleys (with nods to Syd Barrett, at least at the outset) than with Red House Painters. If you had to pigeonhole them somewhere, I suppose you could go with the "shoegazer" tag, alth ugh the songs tend to be structurally more complex than your typical dreampop tune (to the point where th re's an appreciable prog-rock influence showing through). Everything that the band has released since the departure of lead throat/bassist Ian Masters has been... well, they bore me now. Thoroughly. 'In Ribbons' could be a good place to start, as it is more of a "rock" album, al eit with its share of good quirks. 'The Comforts of Madness' is my personal favorite. I'd actually r commend both these discs, at least if your budget allows such overindulgence. :) Cheers, hk -- hk@neosoft.com and farrago@delphi.com or http://www.neosoft.com/~hk/ "make a fist of my heart, make it strong..." - spoonfed hybrid Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 22:34:04 CST From: the boy in zinc (eewittme@STUDENTS.WISC.EDU) Subject: Re: pale saints buy comforts, and if you can find it, the japanese import mrs. dolphin (a compilation of the barging, half-life with a couple of extra songs). flesh balloon is also good, with the rest being less essential, imo (note that i said less essential, not unessential). of course, i'm horribly biased b/c i pretty much like everything ian has touched (except that pail saint cassette on time stereo -- boring!) i like to describe comforts as psych meets surf meets shoegazing. the last four tracks on that album are my favorite 15-20 minutes of music (except maybe colours and shapes.) spoonfed hybrid, one of ian's post-ps projects are also very good (where's that ep, hk?) though they're much darker and more synth oriented than ps. think bark psychosis or slowdive's pygmalion as far as mood goes. i love to put those three, pram's sargasso sea and portishead's dummy in my cd changer on random. anyway, i've rambled on for long enough. time to get back to that homework i didn't do over break. BiZ Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 18:56:12 -0500 From: Joseph Burns (jaburns@ASTRO.OCIS.TEMPLE.EDU) Subject: Re: Pale Saints (was Re: RHP album info) The Comforts of Madness (imho) is the quitisential 4AD release ever. Or if not definately the best album released that year! Its a slippery little epic that will take you to the strangest dark corners of your mind only to make you do a little dance and sing a happy little pop song once you get there... its just f*#@ing brilliant. In Ribbons, is good but lacks the quality of COM that sweeps you along into its swirling bliss... or maybe its just because they put actual breaks in between songs... i dont know if its more of a 'rock ' album, the lead track does rock a bit, but the other trtacks more or less hover (although ordeal kinda has a sprained ankle and limps along dragging a bad leg until that one part... oh im getting carried away) Comforst of Madness is must have... theres no two ways about it. Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 13:43:29 -0500 From: Michael Borum (iceblink@TIAC.NET) Subject: Re: another pale saints question "In Ribbons" is by far the better of the two, IMO. It seems you've heard it already, so I'll not describe it. As for "Slow Buildings", the title is fairly indicative of many of the songs on the LP. There are a few songs that are really long, and many of them have some slow moments in them. Meriel was the principal songwriter on this record, and she borrowed a lot of chords and riffs from "In Ribbons", which helps it to still sound like Pale Saints. Overall, "Slow Buildings" is much rougher around the edges, less delicate, less ironic, and much less moody-and-arty-a-la-Ian Masters. It's a diverse record, but at the same time not too mind-blowing. There's quite a bit of distortion in songs like "Henry" (one of the best on the record IMO, but 10 minutes long!), "Song of Solomon" (quite a bit of aggression), and "Under Your Nose". There are tracks like "King Fade"--an atmospheric instrumental--which seems to remind me of some earlier PS work; "Fine Friend" (the single), "Suggestion", "One Blue Hill", and "Gesture of a Fear" which are all nice and melodic and moody, and then "Angel (will you be my)" and "Always I", which are very poppy and not that great. Few of the tracks on "Slow Buildings" really don't compare too much with "In Ribbons" as far as I'm concerned. When they were on tour, I had a chat with Meriel about their sound on "Slow Buildings" and I mentioned how much the songs had a more feminine aura about them now compared to before. Her face lit up in agreement, so I suppose I hit upon something there. I mean, naturally, the band is now--or was--two women and two men as opposed to 3 men and one woman, so there's going to be some difference--especially with one of the women writing the songs and doing all the singing, with the other woman as backup. I dunno...it's not "feminine" like Lush are feminine. It's a different sorta thing altogether. Darker or something. Mike iceblink@tiac.net Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 22:00:22 -0500 From: Joseph Burns (jaburns@ASTRO.OCIS.TEMPLE.EDU) Subject: Re: another pale saints question The Pale Saints of "IN RIBBONS" and the Pale Saints of "SLOW BUILDINGS" are two different bands. Ian was such a fundamental part of the early Pale Saints creative process, that when he left, the bands direction really changed. You have to approach the two records with different expectaions. If you expect "In Ribbons" out of "Slow Buildings" you will be disappointed. It still has the quirky rhythms and melodies as the early PS stuff. It also has some great angelic vocals and great guitar... If you can get yourself to stop asking WHY WHY WHY did Ian have to leave?!, you will find that "Slow Buildings" has some wonderfull things buried in it... but you have to be patient... it doesnt give up its charms easily. Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 00:02:05 EST From: Jeremy L Orr (j.orr@JUNO.COM) Subject: the death of Pale Saints..? on a lighter note... While vainly doing a net search for raw info on Funky Porcini (anyone?), one of the things I was led to was the 4AD-L archives at evo.org for the date May 13 (my birthday, coincidentally). Apparently someone had a Funky Porcini 12" for sale that day. :G) Anyway, in another post that same day, someone was saying that Pale Saints have now disbanded for good, and that Graeme & Chris were working on a new project, Colleen was looking for a new band to join, and no mention was made about Meriel. I went through the archives for the following week or so, but no other mention was made about the band. So does anyone happen to know if this is definitely true? Just curious, as usual... Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 08:49:24 -0800 From: Aaron Thorne (fearless@U.WASHINGTON.EDU) Subject: Re: Secret Curve? On Tue, 17 Dec 1996, John Mcintyre wrote: > "All tracks written and performed by Curve. Published by: PXM Publishing. > All tracks licensed from The Product Exchange. (P) 1995 Wazzz Music. > (C) 1995 Disky Communications Europe B.V. Cover design: Van Dijken, > Enschede." i replied to this when it was first brought up by Mr. Gman2 but i guess nobody saw that. This is a different curve. They were around before the Curve w/ Toni & Dean and they have sometimes been known as Curve Sr. I think this might be the only release that you'll run across but just in case, all Curve records must have some mention of Anxious, Charisma, Sony, or Fatlip. They are also credited to Halliday/Garcia, not just Curve. aaron Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 17:44:45 -0600 From: "Steven S. Fang" Subject: Re: Pale Saints: Masters vs. Barham At 07:12 AM 11/24/97 -0500, Jeff wrote: >I totally admire the Masters fronted Pale Saints for what it was AS WELL >as Meriel's vision. "Fine Friend", the long version on "AVAM" >especially, is really damn good stuff. I'm of the contingent that'll >always support Masters AND "Slow Buildings" equally. Where are you now, >Meriel?? Still on contract to 4AD or what?? Now, I didn't mean to suggest that Meriel was the cause of the Pale Saints' oozing of gibberish on Slow Buildings (at least not the sole cause). But after Ian left, he took quite a chunk of the band's collective imagination with him. How else can one account for the almost thorough lack of ingenuity on Slow Buildings? Gone were the mesmerizing melodies, the energetic bass lines, and the cohesive whole, although Graeme and Chris continued to perform admirably. Perhaps if the remaining members had renamed the band, I would be capable of lending them a bit more respect. But releasing Slow Buildings after In The Comforts Of Madness and In Ribbons and advertising it as a Pale Saints production is like promoting sin as a product of God. (Wait ... did I just make an argument against my own position? Please do excuse my sarcastic blasphemy.) Along with his fine bass work and musical sense in general, Ian has such a distinct voice. I fear the same cannot be said of Meriel regarding her musical and vocal range. Essentially, what I would like to suggest is that most anything compared to the Ian Masters incarnation of Pale Saints will prove to be inferior, especially if it attempts to call itself something silly ... like Pale Saints. They could have at least included a disclaimer on Slow Buildings to the effect of, oh ... "Pale Saints after a heart transplant." At 06:37 AM 11/24/97 GMT, Paul wrote: >Perhaps you might post an appreciation/recommendation of your favorite Pale >Saints releases? In The Comforts Of Madness is probably my favorite. It exemplifies organic unity beautifully. In Ribbons follows closely behind. (I do concede that Meriel played an integral role on this album, but my point isn't that Meriel ruined Pale Saints. Rather, Pale Saints without Ian is not and should not be called Pale Saints.) Next comes the Mrs. Dolphin compilation. As for Ian's post-Pale projects, it would be difficult to choose a favorite. Spoonfed Hybrid and ESP Summer are both excellent, although they're quite the departure from typical Pale Saints material. They're even more melodic ... in an acoustic, soothing, mellow sort of way. Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 19:50:17 -0600 From: "Steven S. Fang" Subject: Re: Pale Saints and Ian Masters ESP Summer (as with all of Ian's post-Pale Saints projects) is quite different from the traditional Pale Saints sound. Whereas ESP Summer is extremely slow, mellow, light, and airy, traditional Pale Saints releases are extremely effects-laden and speedy. So, if you try Pale Saints with the expectation of hearing something similar to ESP Summer, you might be disappointed initially. A good album with which to start would be In The Comforts Of Madness. It's a bit difficult to find, but it's well worth the effort. After that, try In Ribbons (which should be readily available at most shops). Although this is far too simplistic, I guess another way of describing Pale Saints would be to call them a more sophisticated version of Lush (from the Spooky days). If comparisons to other bands are helpful, you might think of Pale Saints as fitting somewhat comfortably in a category that includes Chapterhouse, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine. And if you want to find something closer to ESP Summer, try Spoonfed Hybrid (another of Ian's post-Pale Saints projects). At 04:16 PM 11/24/97 -0500, you wrote: >I just got ESP Summer in the mail and I like it a lot. Can anyone >recommend any particular Pale Saints albulms to start with. I've never >listened to them. Can you explain what they sound like, maybe what >instruments they use? Thanks, > >B R E N D E N Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 00:46:37 -0800 From: Jon Subject: Re: Pale Saints What is ESP Summer? As for Pale SAints: COmforts of Madness is my absolute favorite LP, and the "Barging Into the Presence of God" EP (unfortunately OOP) is a close second. Dreamy, noisey, discordant, harmonic, melodious, subtle. I would guess a combo of electric-acoustic, samples, effects and often wailing to whispering vocals. Comforts is the kind of album to hear full through with no pauses. It reminds me of manic-depression with a hopeful light. Jon Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 12:52:10 +0000 From: Andrew.Dean@BULL.NET Subject: Re: she rides the waves steven s. fang: >Does anyone know where I can find a copy of the demo >version of "She Rides The Waves"? I heard a slow rendition >of it from a BBC live performance, and I suspect that it >might be the demo version featured on Diamonds and >Porcupines. If this assumption is wrong, please help me >correct it. it's wrong. the peel session (which i'm guessing is what you heard) was done after 'diamonds and porcupines' was released, peel had been playing it for a while by then. i think that the 'barging' ep was also available before the peel session was recorded - i have 'she rides... (barging version)' taped off the radio on tape #8 whereas the session is on tape #9... i saw them supporting the pastels and being supported by ride (and teenage fanclub, four soon to be very large bands on the one bill) just before(?) 'barging into...' and just before that first ride ep. (this was at the ULU in malet street, london in autumn 89?). um, just trying to think what they have done for the radio... there was one peel session (parts of which were released on a strange fruit compilation) and one session for mark radcliffe on 'hit the north' (radio 5, before his radio 1 show). details below. as for all the arguments i think that they were good together but not so good apart - ian seemed to add all the weird elements to the music (the bubble machines, the glockenspiel solos) whereas the rest of the band did the more conventional stuff. ian left and, well, man cannot live by glockenspiel solos alone (in english: his solo stuff has no substance) and the rest of the band carried on but were lacking that sparkle that ian gave them. the lyrics became more straightforward too, were lacking that dark, genious touch of his. andy why do children break toys? tiny minds have no thoughts... peel session: pale saints: she rides the waves pale saints: way the world is pale saints: time thief pale saints: tear the world in two hit the north session: pale saints: baby maker pale saints: she rides the waves pale saints: liquid pale saints: hair shoes pale saints: throwing back the apple Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 14:21:13 -0500 From: Michael Jones Subject: Re: Palies & Paladins I'd broadly agree with Mr Dean on this one; Masters and Naysmith seemed like the main creative forces to me - the former painstakingly crafting perplexing little pop-curios, the latter spraying everything liberally with overdriven guitar, adding propellant and urgency to Ian's airy constructions (though I could never quite agree with Spin's one-time assessment of them, in a glowing review, as a 90s King Crimson - yuk). One without the other = somehow unsatisfying (the likes of 'Boys In Zinc' and 'King Fade' notable exceptions). 'Comforts of Madness' contained the best songs, 'In Ribbons' was the better realised record. Had that first LP on a shabby tape-to-tape copy for years; when I finally picked it up on CD I was appalled to discover it barely sounded any better. Both Jon Fryer and Gil Norton at fault really; what I wouldn't give for a 'True Coming Dream' that wasn't shrill and harsh or a richer-sounding 'Language of Flowers'. Ah, maybe it was supposed to be like that (but I'm not alone in thinking the production was botched). The subsequent 'Half-Life' EP went to the other extreme - more overdubbed guitars than you can shake a stick at. I don't think Ian ever enjoyed playing live - perhaps a reason for his departure - though I think he had grand live ambitions for Spoonfed early on... Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 15:06:48 PST From: little spacey Subject: i hear the language of flowers... i'm curious about this compilation that features two oneironaut tracks... any info on how one might locate it? i don't remember where, but i heard that meriel, chris, graeme, and colleen (since one cannot really refer to them as pale saints) called it quits. i can't decide if this is a good or bad thing, as i didn't mind the "fine friend" ep (see "marimba", a very nice track indeed) nor the "slow buildings" lp... but, like many, i prefer to stick with the ian-era pale saints for reasons that are more than obvious. i did, however, manage to catch meriel and co. twice when they were touring for "slow buildings" and both were very very enjoyable shows. as for which record to start with... i'm going to have to go with the obvious, "in ribbons". this is an astonishing record from beginning to end... the production and songwriting are both very solid and focused. i still listen to it at least twice a week (or maybe i should say that it still DEMANDS to be played). the next step (i think) would be "mrs. dolphin", which comprises their first ep and the "half-life" ep... and also has a remix of "a deep sleep for steven" (from "the comforts of madness", but i like this one much more) plus the amazing "colours and shapes" (i've heard that not many fans like this track... any comments?). Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 20:01:20 -0600 From: Jeremy L Orr Subject: Re: Pale Saints ---from Steven S. Fang: > I didn't mean to suggest that Meriel was the cause of the > Pale Saints' oozing of gibberish on Slow Buildings (at > least not the sole cause). But after Ian left, he took > quite a chunk of the band's collective imagination with > him... Perhaps if the remaining members had renamed the > band, I would be capable of lending them a bit more > respect. Exactly. I have nothing against Meriel...I got into Pale Saints after hearing the "Half Life" EP, and I thought that bringing her into the band was a great idea. It seems silly to think that they should've changed the name after Ian left, when you consider that out of their six years' worth of recorded output, the line-up of members was never the same for more than one album, and none of the three line-ups was consistent for a majority of their lifespan. But once Ian left, it just didn't seem like Pale Saints anymore. _Slow Buildings_ is a nice enough album (with a terrible sleeve design) and has a couple good songs, but it certainly isn't as awe-inspiring as their first two albums. Without Ian, the songs just weren't as adventurous and interesting. The guitars and (especially) the drums seem much more restrained, some of the lyrics are really corny, and although Colleen Browne is a good bass player, there was definitely something missing in their sound without Ian's style of playing (which has always been overlooked, IMHO). > Although this is far too simplistic, I guess another way > of describing Pale Saints would be to call them a more > sophisticated version of Lush (from the Spooky days). I wouldn't agree with that at all. There was some resemblance between the two bands initially; for instance, you could compare _The Comforts of Madness_ with Lush's _Scar_ EP and come up with lots of similarities, but they may be due more to John Fryer's production work. But by the time of _In Ribbons_ (one of the best albums ever), they had progressed so much that by comparison, _Spooky_ truly looks like the derivative, monochromatic waste of plastic that it is. > If comparisons to other bands are helpful, you might think > of Pale Saints as fitting somewhat comfortably in a > category that includes Chapterhouse, Slowdive, and My > Bloody Valentine. Their songs might all fit together reasonably well on a mix tape, but that's about as much of a comparison as I would make. The elements of texture and mood and space are just as important to Pale Saints' music as they are to bands like MBV and Slowdive, but their songs show a level of songwriting complexity that the other bands wouldn't even attempt (which is isn't to say that Pale Saints are *better*, just *different*). And if you put _Loveless_ next to _In Ribbons_, or _Isn't Anything_ next to _The Comforts of Madness_...it's about like comparing Nine Inch Nails to Front 242 - they may use similar instrumentation and technique, but the respective work of both bands are very different. But now that I sit and think about it, I can't really think of ANY bands that I would compare Pale Saints to. So I guess I'm not much help there. (A friend once said that he saw a parallel between Pale Saints and early R.E.M.; not so much in sound, but that both bands were taking their influences in an interesting new direction and with a unique twist on ambiguousness. "If R.E.M. had been English and met each other about seven years later..." It's interesting to think about, anyway...) Since Brenden asked what instruments they played...when they started out, Chris Cooper played drums, Ian Masters sang and played bass, and Graeme Naysmith played guitars. Meriel Barham joined the band as a permanent member (after touring with them) beginning with their fourth release, the _Flesh Balloon_ EP, and played guitar and sang, usually as backup, though she did sing lead on a few tracks. Since the credits for _In Ribbons_ say that "all instruments were played by Pale Saints except cello", that means someone was playing keyboards on a couple tracks...and judging from his more recent work, I'd say it was probably Ian. He left the band in 1993, so Meriel took over as lead singer, and Colleen Browne was inducted to play bass and sing backup (and sing a couple of Ian's songs whenever they played live). This line-up remained constant until they (wisely) disbanded in '95. My question: what is this "Diamonds and Porcupines" thing that's been brought up? For those of you looking high and low for _The Comforts of Madness_ on CD, I saw a used copy on sale at Streetside Records in St Louis (on Delmar, in University City) for $4. They might do mailorder for a few extra bucks, but you'd have to call and ask them to be sure. Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 21:58:41 -0600 From: Jeremy L Orr Subject: Re: half life remembered/spoonfed hybrid/auction update ---from "avalyn": > i think my favourite pale saints song is possibly the > version of half-life remembered on the half life ep. does > anyone else think hugh jones did a poor production job on > in ribbons? it's a fabulous album but just not quite loud > enough, unfortunately. I think Hugh Jones was the best producer for Pale Saints. I didn't like _The Comforts of Madness_ when I first heard it, but the _Half-Life_ EP really sucked me into their world, and "Half-life, Remembered" was the song most responsible. But now, when I go back and listen to that EP, it sounds really flat and dull. Perhaps Jones' production of their later work is more slick and therefore less "realistic" than Chris Allison's, but I prefer it nonetheless. > i've never heard any spoonfed hybrid.. what do they sound > like? Well, with anything Ian does, it's hard to describe...but if you've heard "Reflections from a Watery World" (from the "Throwing Back the Apple" single), I think it was a good indication of where Ian was going, and eventually ended up with Spoonfed Hybrid. The songwriting is still as great as it ever was in Pale Saints, but the drumming is replaced by a combination of artificial timekeeping and live percussion (tabla, handclaps, etc), and the guitars are much more subdued, often taking a back seat to "strings" and other odd sounds. Like _Comforts_, it didn't grab me at first. It definitely gets better with repeated listening, though, and I play it just as much as I play _In Ribbons_. Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 02:10:24 -0600 From: Jeremy L Orr Subject: Re: PS/KH/v23 ---from robn the poor dumb bird: > stumbled across some 12"s... wondering if i should buy > them...(hint: my favourite pale saints stuff is fine- > friend era, but i dont know all that much about them) > > throwing back the apple 12" > half-life remembered 12" > > so? ought i pick them up? would i be a fool not to? If you like "Fine Friend", then you'd probably enjoy the "Throwing Back the Apple" EP. The title track is amazing, and although I could live without their cover of "Blue Flower" (sung by Meriel), lots of PS fans love it dearly. Both of those songs appear on the US version of _In Ribbons_, but I think the EP is worth it for the re-recorded version of "Half-Life Remembered", which I think is one of their very finest moments. The last track, "Reflections From a Watery World", is sort of a throw-away, but I do like it, and as I've said before, I think it indicates where Ian was going musically when he left the band to work on the Spoonfed Hybrid album. The _Half-Life_ EP is a lot more raw...it was their last release to NOT be produced by Hugh Jones. I think his slicker production style suits them just fine, but the material on _Half-Life_ is still top-notch. Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 01:41:44 -0700 From: andrew dean Subject: pale saints news oh, i had an email from colleen browne the other day, she'd found my lyrics under the eyesore pages and sent me a list of corrections. she also told me what she and the rest of the band are up to these days and it kinda ties in with the posts about the warm jets from a few weeks ago: colleen browne wrote: > For interest's sake, I can tell you that Graeme Naysmith and Chris Cooper > are still in Leeds and are currently in a band called Lorimer with their > friend Phil Pettler, who was once in Leeds-based band "The Edsel > Auctioneer". I had stints in London-based bands "Rialto" (eastwest) and > "Warm Jets" (Island) and am currently in an unsigned band called "White > Hotel" with drummer Jean-Marc Butty, who played with PJ Harvey for 3 years > during the "To Bring You My Love" period and singer/songwriter/guitarist > Ken Low who has played on some Barry Adamson (once of "The Bad Seeds") > albums. sounds interesting, two new bands with great pedigrees. and what about the warm jets and rialto? does she appear in any of their recorded output to date? cheers andy Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 18:29:46 -0500 From: dreadnaut Subject: Re: Swallow and Pale Saints > I'm interested in getting an album by Swallow or the Pale Saints. What do > these two groups sound like? If I can only get one album, which group is > better? "the Comforts of Madness" by Pale Saints is just about my favorite album of all time. "In Ribbons", although quite a bit more commercial in sound, is also quite good. I love both those bands very much, but I personally would definitely have to pick Pale Saints as being one of the most hideously under-rated bands that ever was. Swallow are good (especially the "Hush" EP) but not nearly as original, haunting, or compelling. I've been listening to Pale Saints for 8 years, and the mystery and allure of their intricately constructed music hasn't waned even a little for me in all that time. It's still just as striking and intoxicating as it was when I first experienced it. The only thing I wouldn't recommend by them is "Slow Buildings". It seems as though when Ian left, the heart and soul of the music went with him. To try and peg down their "sound" would be difficult, as it tended to change drastically from release to release. It was really less a sound and more a personality. Although obviously Cocteau/Shoegazer influenced, what they added to it was entirely unique. The meandering melodics are more of the Simon & Garfunkel / Moody Blues / Byrds cast and, as one 92 article put it, "the rhythms shift like sand". Ian tends to sound like the ghost of a vienna choirboy over Graeme's scintillant, majestic Guthrie-esque guitar-scapes, while Meriel has a more steely, ardent demeanor, almost reminiscent of Nico at times. One of the things I love most about Pale Saints is their ability to sound both cheerful and gloomy simultaneously. They really created their own "realm". Swallow, on the other hand, fit more readily into the stereotypical "shoegazer" mold. Although they outshone many of the more popular competitors in terms of songwriting and production, they still could be mistaken at a glance for My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive.