Everything Is Alive

Shoegaze / dream pop. Latest LP of the ’90s English shoegaze legends, the follow up to 2017’s excellent self-titled record and their second on Dead Oceans. It’s very dreamlike with a certain energy still. Not reinventing the wheel, but there are some amazing tracks on here — especially love “shanty” and “kisses,” the latter which is bound to be on repeat.

Related: Softcult, recent Tamaryn, Cocteau Twins, Creation Records
Favorites: 1, 3, 5, 8
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1. (5:48) * shanty — Ethereal ambient gaze with propulsive energy, great opener
2. (4:47) prayer remembered — Very slow dreamscape, echoes of the Just for a Day sound, picks up in intensity at 2:34
3. (4:33) * alife — Chiming guitars, dreamy yet energetic alternative rock, Rachel and Neil alternate on vox
4. (6:42) andalucia plays — Drifting dream pop, weaker track on the record
5. (3:57) * kisses — Bright dream rock that grooves, “the single,” vox duet really works here
6. (3:53) skin in the game — Whispered vox-driven track, atmospheric sounds take center stage
7. (6:51) chained to a cloud — Mostly instrumental track with subdued vox, would have worked better as a shorter interlude track
8. (5:11) * the slab — Stronger alternative rock feel, epic, womblike in its own way