A Brazilian band called Devilish Dear have a bit of a unique take on shoegaze, with some folk instruments thrown into the mix, but it doesn't quite make my list (and was released in Brazil a couple of years ago if there are any pedants reading!).
I haven't been able to find any decent straight-up rock bands I consistently like for years, but Weirds' Swarmculture will hopefully be the start of something good.
The only other 2010s band who've got close are Pulled Apart by Horses, and coincidentally Weirds are also from Leeds. Weirds were also supposed to support PABH last month at a gig I had a ticket for, but was cancelled. So instead I'm off to see Weirds support the less-exciting Spring King next month.
Searching for Weirds has also led me to another shoegazey discovery I quite like, Weird. (full-stop included in name).
Flotation Toy Warning are worth a mention too, for their first album in 13 years. I was listening to their debut, Bluffer's Guide To The Flight Deck, and thought they were one of those legendary bands that would only release one album. I went and posted on their Facebook and they were literally seconds away from announcing their second album! It's good and will probably take a while more to grow on me, like the first did. "To Live for Longer Slides" has to be one of the best song titles of the year.
Salian wrote:Antisocialites by Alvvays in the mix. Glorious hook heavy indie pop, In Undertow is maybe my song of the year?
That's close for me. I wasn't a big fan of their debut, but the songs sounded great live - indie-pop gigs can be such fun. You might also like Strange Hello's debut, Chromatic. The single versions from the album are better in my opinion, but I like that they went to the effort of recording different versions for the album.
