Pinkshinyultrablast

St. Petersburg, Russia's Pinkshinyultrablast, who released one of last year's best records, are already set to drop a sequel to Everything Else Matters titled Grandfeathered.  The new album is a more experimental listen compared with their debut, and finds the band unafraid to try new things and embrace the fine lines between visceral noise and restrained subtlety.  According to the band, "The new album has been recorded and mixed much faster than the previous one. The songs have more density to them and are generally more complex."

What To Expect:  More shoegaze guitars, Lyubov Soloveva's uplifting vocals, and sonic transport to an alternate universe.

When To Expect It:  Grandfeathered drops February 26.

But I Wanna Hear It Now:  There are apparently some leaks already out there, but in the meantime here are the first two singles from Grandfeathed, The Cherry Pit and Kiddie Pool Dreams.

Album of the Year

I've seen their distinctive-sounding name thrown around the interwebs but I hadn't actually heard Pinkshinyultrablast until this past week, and my god, am I ever glad that I did!  Just like that distinctive-sounding name, Pinkshinyultrablast seem to compress a lot of things together - dream pop, shoegaze, and electronica being the most recognizable elements - and fuse it together into something that is entirely their own.

I'm loving their album Everything Else Matters, and wish that I could live in that luminous universe their music conjures.  It may be the last new album I hear in 2015, but I think I saved the best for last.