SHoegaze often gets saddled with negative connotations – “my god, it’s full of stars,” one music critic mocked on Twitter when My Bloody Valentine’s MBV dropped earlier this year, with plenty of others calling the group (who stand in for shoegaze) nerd music or weed music, neither of which were meant in a positive context. Even though these folks were just being spoil sports at the time, their complaints could easily be directed at a large chunk of stuff that came in the afterglow of Loveless. Shoegaze can get pretty…gazey.
Which is why Head On The Sofa’s new EP Live With Her Ghost is such a surprise. Here, fuzzed-out guitars aren’t being utilized for maximum floor staring – nope, these dudes are conjuring up a ghost. As evidenced by the title, Head On The Sofa are dealing with some sort of spirit here, and the band use feedback-heavy guitar sounds to drive home the otherworldly-ness of the songs as far as they can. Part of the EP’s charm lies in how the vocals interact with the guitars, clear enough that they are audible but blotted out enough to sound like they are coming through a wall. It’s a technique that makes the grind of “Inside Of Minds” works, and is downright vital on “Her Ghost,” where the band’s lead singer avoids words in favor of an unintelligible swoon meant to sound like, well, a ghost. And even when they approach more well-worn ground, they still sound good, like on the fast-paced closer “You Have The Light.” Get it here, or listen below.