Belong - Common Era (Vinyl LP, CD)

Oh my god. I've been waiting years for this to come out. It's only 5 years since their breathtaking debut which is still being regularly played at home though it feels like an eternity. One thing you know for sure is that when a band makes an album that good and doesn't do another one for 5 years then it's gonna be good. In this day and age of folks releasing loads, making everything available and being far too prolific for their own good it's great when you get an artist like this who takes their time to breed a classic. The opener reminds me of something off the Fluorescent Grey EP by Deerhunter. Shoegazey fuzzy pop with a metronomic beat and breathy vocals. I love the fuzz....and it's contained throughout the album. From start to end there's a general shoegazey fuzzy feel. Plenty of pop tunes in there amidst the feedback and that is what separates it from the 1st album. You get pop songs with vocals. Melodies are buried deep within layers of feedback. The songs are brilliantly constructed and on first listen I was getting the goosebumpy thing halfway through a song. I rarely get that on first listen of anything. If you're after a contemporary reference point then if you liked The Soft Moon album you'll more than likely dig this. Gothy dreamy pop with a drum machine and more fuzz than you could shake a shitty stick at. Fucking genius.