While a host of uberhyped rock bands enjoy the spotlight by digging up the graves of dated styles such as post-punk and garage rock, a new batch of bands indebted to the early ’90s style of “”shoegaze”” rock is emerging. Along with the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Raveonettes, two new bands, San Francisco’s Stratford 4 and New York’s Longwave, are enjoying growing popularity with their excellent second albums.
Dubbed “”shoegaze”” by the press from the bands’ icy stage presence, the movement took its cues from ’80s noise-poppers the Jesus and Mary Chain and ethereal crooners Cocteau Twins. It crystallized with the band My Bloody Valentine and its seminal 1991 album “”Loveless,”” which was widely regarded as a modern masterpiece of swirling, crashing guitars and dreamy vocals. “”Loveless”” nearly sunk their label, Creation, after it failed to make a commercial breakthrough. Still, the album and the band proved to be infinitely influential, spawning a legion of followers such as Ride, Slowdive and Lush, who each displayed original takes on the sound and took it to new heights. Blockbuster rockers like Garbage and the Smashing Pumpkins also declared their love for the band and the movement they helped spawn.
By the time Nirvana brought grunge into the United States and Suede and Oasis brought Britpop to the United Kingdom, the two genres were essentially dead. These two albums, however, are breathing new life into the genres. While friends BRMC are thoroughly indebted to the squall of the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Stratford 4 take on less noisy, more pop-oriented influences. “”Love and Distortion”” is a terrifically catchy batch of songs that are sure to please anyone with a jones for pop melodies drenched in sun-baked distorted guitars. The opener “”Where the Ocean Meets the Eye”” bounces sleepily on a My Bloody Valentine bass line only to be demolished by the next song, the stomping “”She Married the Birds.”” Vocalist Chris Streng sings “”I went to confession, and I had nothing to confess”” over Stones-inspired riffery in a hook that latches on subtly and lingers for days.
Whereas the band’s debut, “”The Revolt Against Tired Noises,”” was charming but meandering, “”Love and Distortion”” is pretty uniformly solid. The trak “”12 Months”” gets surprisingly folksy, while “”The Simple Things are Taking Over”” starts slow and builds to a thunderous chorus with Smashing Pumpkins-like guitar chords and passionate vocals. Other high points include the joyful pop tune, “”Kleptophilia,”” about, well, kleptophilia, and “”Telephone,”” in which Streng confesses his insecurities to his mother, who tells him “”when I was twenty-two, I was a lot like you”” in the spine-tingling chorus. She also tells him “”there’s more to life than the Stratford 4.”” Hopefully, Streng won’t heed his mother’s advice and keep writing delightfully insecure pop gems like this.
The songs occasionally drone a bit too much, and bassist Shetal Singh’s lovely backup vocals are severely underused, but the booming guitars and lovesick melodies more than make up for such shortcomings. The Stratford 4 embark on tour with emo-popper Pedro the Lion and will likely hit Southern California in April or May.
Longwave has the advantage of having more famous friends (the Strokes, whom they toured with) and a more commercial sound. The band still has its share of guitar noise and dreamy vocals, but the songs are more concise and pop-informed, drawing comparisons to early U2 and Radiohead. The opener, “”Wake Me When It’s Over,”” could be an ironic reference to shoegaze’s criticism of being too “”sleepy,”” as it is certainly influenced by the genre’s sonic guitar landscapes. It also sounds a little too much like the opening to the new album by like-minded New York band Interpol. But the single, “”Everywhere You Turn,”” is pure modern-rock melodrama in the vein of U2’s “”Beautiful Day.””
Elsewhere, the band sounds Strokes-ish (“”Pool Song””), Doves-ish (“”I Know It’s Coming Someday””), and Pumpkins-ish (“”All Sewn Up””). The album is loaded with references to the ocean, a logical metaphor for the band’s swimming melodies and guitars. Somehow the band is able to tie its visible influences together into an engaging (if not totally original) and coherent album. There really isn’t a weak moment throughout, and the band’s earnestness and ear for melody eventually wear on you until you give in. Longwave plays at Cal State Long Beach on April 4 and at L.A.’s Troubadour April 5.