Japanese Shoegazers, Seventeen Years Old And Berlin Wall, release new single No Paradise today.
It’s a marked departure from the huge wall of sound productions of their previous work. No Paradise sees a much cleaner, Dream Pop orientated sound. Ultra-melodic guitars pick out pretty melodies over understated synth pads. The drumming is downbeat & natural. Vocals still occupy the reverb-drenched midrange that you’d expect of a band with roots in Shoegaze, dreamy vocal melodies behaving as another layer of lush, comfort blanket-like instrumentation. There’s an almost twee feel to the melodic simplicity used here.
If you’re unfamiliar with Seventeen Years Old And Berlin Wall’s earlier work, check out the great video for their 2017 single Prism (at the bottom of this post). You’ll hear why No Paradise is such a departure, production wise, from their earlier work. I actually like the gentler sound palate used here. It still creates a huge, cavernous warmth which almost seems to envelop the listener.
There is a theory that Shoegaze & Dream Pop’s popularity lays in their warm, surrounding qualities. The emotions of comfort & safety which this gives the listener is thought to be womblike.
No Paradise is out today in all of the usual places.
Buy Tom a coffee?
Tom loves coffee. If you’ve enjoyed any of the content he’s created then please consider donating a few quid to buy him a cup.
£3.00
Scruffy Theory 