Let us get this straight: Phantom Wave are a New York City-based shoegaze outfit, whose new album is being released by a niche yet knowledgeable British label, Shore Dive Records, based in Brighton. Quite peculiar, but it makes sense within the global shoegaze scene; it’s not a giant space, but it certainly boasts a loyal audience. Take us, for example: fierce admirers of anything lush and hazy, we bow our heads to Phantom Wave’s relentless, spacious guitars and chaotic grittiness, a signature formula best described as “distorted dreamscape”.
We fully buy into it. Marking Phantom Wave’s third LP to date, ‘Echoes Unknown’ is a tapestry of fuzzy distortions, all wrapped into an ethereal and expansive sonic livery, one that feels larger-than-life, but also gloomy and melancholic. Introduced by its title track, the album provides pure escapism, with the group’s otherworldly, feverish vocals guiding listeners into a parallel universe, one where daydreaming is not only allowed but encouraged. Ian Carpenter (guitar/vocals), Yanek Che (bass), and Rachel Fischer (drums) do a stellar job once again.
Delving deeper into the record, Phantom Wave explains: “We hope that Echoes Unknown takes you on a journey through our hazy and ethereal collage of sounds. To us, Echoes Unknown is a dreamy way station, a sonic meditative rest in the band’s journey to other places as yet unknown, and projecting dreams into the near future.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Echoes Unknown’ on Spotify:
