05 October 2011

Review: She's So Rad 'In Circles'













SHE'S SO RAD
In Circles
[Round Trip Mars]

Musical Chameleon. That sums up Jeremy Toy beautifully. The Opensouls' guitarist/songwriter has had his hands in many musical pies over the years - producing Hollie Smith's debut album, playing with local punks Sommerset and crafting wonky hip hop in his solo guise, Ota. For She's So Rad he has linked with Sami Sister Anji to add yet another style to his arsenal: shoegaze. Hazy indie rock informs much of their debut album In Circles, with beautifully bruised pop songs layered heavily with dreamy guitars, washed out vocals and dense, swirling atmospherics. Reference points include Ride, The Charlatans and Toro Y Moi, but mostly you'll hear a modern take on the Dunedin Sound, particularly the excellent Jean-Paul Sartre Experience. Guests include Julien Dyne, James Duncan and Nick Gaffaney, but In Circles mostly serves to illustrate that Jeremy Toy is fast growing into one of this country's true musical treasures. Very impressive indeed.

4 stars from 5

No comments:

Post a Comment