Not a genre that has much popularity amongst listeners, nor does it enjoy an enormous loyal fandom, unlike progressive Rock or Grunge for instance. But Shoegaze is a rock genre that has been there since the 1980s and it beholds the name “shoegaze” because guitarists use their effects pedals and also do vocals.

“The Loud Bangs” are the ones who provoked our interest in their Shoegazing with their 8th release, their EP titled “Why Things Fray” conceiving five tracks full of experimental, psychedelic shoegazed tunes.

From L.A. California the American Shoegaze band “The Loud Bangs” released “Why Things Fray” the EP that flies you around with its multi-layering and dresses you in multiple experiences this goes back to the multi-effects each track beholds and the multiple vocal effects and vibes the band members give the audience.

“Why Things Fray” begins with an “Analog Test” which sounds like a test of instruments altogether until they are all aligned in a cosmic wave into your ears. Followed by “The Penelope Cannon” which sounds a bit sharper than the previous track given the notes played by “Alice Street” and “Daisy Gutierrez”. Then “Circus Mirror” begins to play with a hefty bass intro played by “Hannah Remley”.

Music keeps coming as “Unpleasantly Tense” which seems softer than the previous ones, as the acoustic guitar is the showman of this track. And this one seems special as it plays as a theme track to one of those nature-enthusiastic movies while painting a scene on a suburban road inside a car while it’s softly raining.

The last track on the EP is “Ex Dolls” which begins with the drumming of “Marcus Nemuro” followed by some keys that keep on playing throughout the track until it reaches an outro to mark the end road for a great Shoegaze rocking record “Why Things Fray” with a peaceful sentence said by the vocals “Good Night”.

The Loud Bands were founded by four members in Los Angeles in the summer of 2021, and have released multiple EPs in the last year, but “Stray Honey” is the sexiest of them all by far.

Being released on Valentine’s Day, and as the title would suggest “Stray Honey” revolves around themes of sex and sexual loneliness. It addresses these personal topics in a deeply emotional and heartfelt way, with the music that pushes frontiers in shoegaze.

The intro track “Electroprize” will immediately grab your attention as you grapple with the intense layers of emotions with which The Loud Bangs kick off “Stray Honey”. 

From the darker and aggressive initial tones of “Electroprize” The Loud Bangs slowly introduce their softer, more melancholic colours with the following tracks “Sex Complex” and “We All Want To Be All Right” that feature clean tones and slower tempo moody music.

The fourth track on the EP “This Is a Japanese Robot” will get you amped up after straight away like the storm after the calm. The explosive energy on “This Is a Japanese Robot” will get you to dance, tap your feet, band your head, shake your arms, or do whatever your body naturally does. The track has a liberating energy to it that fuses rock, ragtime, and club dance together.

Finally, we get to the epic masterpiece of “Stray Honey” and the track that made me realise The Loud Bangs‘ incredible potential as musicians and sound designers. Track five “Bell Gardens” is when the band’s reputation as “the Pink Floyd of shoegaze” immediately clicked for me. If you want to listen to something that you have never heard the like of before (and of course you do, who wouldn’t!), then you NEED to listen to “Bell Gardens”, and in fact listen to the whole EP “Stray Honey” to enjoy this whole experience.

 The opening track, Spectral Field, has some ambient synthesizers and guitars with multiple effects on them. I really love the way the vocals are muffled and processed to sound the same way, the overall feeling of this track is dreamy and uplifting. There are so many fine details that can’t be heard upon first listen, that you’ll have to repeat the song multiple times to completely grasp it. The second track, Late Day Magnets, reminded me heavily of The Cranberries as its vocal lines and clean guitars remind me of the 90s and 2000s Alternative Rock so much. There are ambient synth sounds but there are also keyboard riffs and melodies that add a dark rave/dance element that will appeal to goth rock/EBM/industrial fans. Candy Sometimes Always continues in that same vein, but has faster drum and bass lines. The vocals are wailing and ethereal, and their mix with a poppy and dancy instrumental is a beautiful contradiction that works wonders in emotional delivery and makes the track more replayable. Future Bruises is very soothing and calming, and although the vocals are just muffled and unclear gibberish phrases, it feels like they are speaking to me with their tone and twang. The song has an extended outro where the drums and bass progressively grow heavier and faster. The fifth and final track, Playboy Tattoo, has the most conventional song structure and style on the EP. It’s based on the guitars and the keyboards/synths only take the additional melodies. In the midsection of the song, the synths are heavily distorted too, which I found to be a very cool gimmick. 

In conclusion, this is one of those albums filled with minor details that you must repeat to get a grasp on. The first impression I got from this album is that I get to hear 80s and 90s goth rock mixed with shoegaze mixed with 2000s alternative in a seamless blend that will keep the album stuck in your mind for days after you’ve finished it.