• .smiled as i bit in to what i kicked.beyond the pale in comparison.nada.i am the rock in the water.you are the head of joni eareckson tada.2:34 PM May 23rd from web

• .kicked pregnant bellies in the button up until the flesh split.the foetus fell out out on my toes.feeling biblical i chewed thru the cord.2:15 PM May 23rd from web

• .reading a book about @depechemode and i do believe an affectionate review is coming your way but i do have to finish it first.and pygmy.11:48 AM May 23rd from web

• .some say hate is a strong word but i have yet to see it lift any weight at the gym.it must be a weak word.yes.hate is a weak word.9:56 PM May 22nd from web

• .it is one thing to be in the womb while your parents enjoy a bit of the olde in-out and just plain revolting when you are in the same room.9:10 PM May 22nd from web

• www.vjesci.tumblr.com will be neglected no more.9:01 PM May 22nd from web

• “Now in Maytime to the wicket Out I march with bat and pad: See the son of grief at cricket Trying to be glad.”8:53 PM May 22nd from web

• @KojiiHelnwein .you HATE seeing cyril scratched up? .according to @ballardian thought you should be rather excited after any kind of CRASH.8:47 PM May 22nd from web

• @SlashHudson .as a slash do you lean more towards the future as represented by / or the past as \ represents?5:52 PM May 22nd from web in reply to SlashHudson

• .therapistsloveus.1:36 PM May 22nd from web

• @_BABYLAND_ .my sin: www.discogs.com/artist/My+Sin8:47 AM May 22nd from web

• .for this #followfriday do fawn over the following five: @janusfilms @obscurehollow @_BABYLAND_ @CarlySimonHQ @thanatos_net8:29 AM May 22nd from web

• @Religulous “Religion, drugs—which one of those fucking drugs do you want to talk about?”–dave gahan8:28 AM May 22nd from web

• .in a glass jaw in a glass mouth in a glass cage in a glass house.9:16 PM May 21st from web

• .softly gobbling soy crisps where i can hear crickets in the distance as slow majestic credits roll me in to the beginning of the film.6:39 PM May 21st from web

• @Nick13Official .if you have never seen www.forbiddenzonethemovie.com you ought to seek it out.majestic pastels.danny elfman as satan.1:58 AM May 21st from web

• .disclaimer: .i diss claimers.10:26 PM May 20th from web

• .five.two.one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…10:21 PM May 20th from web

• .BITE BACK. http://www.directaction.info/10:00 PM May 20th from web

• .watching the fly after munch at a favourite haunt.cronenberg made so few films i would ever watch twice.should follow with crash.7:29 PM May 20th from web

• .good times for a change.a damn fine cover of please please please let me get what i want: www.myspace.com/robdickinson7:27 PM May 20th from web

• .don quixote drowning.3:58 PM May 19th from web

• .from kalte ente to kaltes ende.of course i know what i imply.i imply you have no idea.11:34 PM May 18th from web

• .viewing stroszek and listening to the idiot…but reading: http://bit.ly/WyO48 .ian i just may stay.11:53 AM May 18th from web

• .semantics in the forbidden zone.8:39 PM May 17th from web

• .i disguised the title of my booky wook in code some time ago and no one broke it.did not give it away then and not giving it away now.8:39 PM May 17th from web

• “We could not understand the location LABYRINTHESIA Know about this place and want everyone to find it? Add it to our Maps!”6:26 PM May 17th from web

• .33 19 17.4:30 PM May 17th from web

• .i once wrote a limerick about a lime rickey but i in the end deemed it all too limericky.11:44 AM May 17th from web

• .a new entry? .could it be? .black boys on mopeds. www.vjesci.net9:15 AM May 17th from web

• “F is fay, fi fo foo F-U-C-K You! You! You! Ficky Fa Fe Fi Fo Foo Ficky Fi Fuck you!”8:47 AM May 17th from web

• “Sin and evil That’s what you’ll find You’ll meet two baldheaded devils there with wild sex on their minds”8:32 AM May 17th from web

• @MissTori .lovers rock is one of most favourite albums ever.loathe most of sades other albums but lovers rock…oh lovers rock.8:26 AM May 17th from web

It’s been a while since the last post — more coming soon, promise. In the mean time, here’s a gallery of helium balloon-related pics: left-to-right — the Nokia balloon cam we invented for Rob Dickinson’s “Oceans” video; a still from an excellent Australian balloon car illusion we found on YouTube; and the balloon house from Disney/Pixar’s Up, which reminded us of the 2006 “Oceans” shoot. And just for good measure, here’s a link to Goldfrapp’s “Clowns,” in which Alison G sings of balloons in a clever, often gobble-de-gook-like way.

No one who has followed Catherine Wheel over the years will ever understand why they weren’t more popular. Maybe they were ahead of their time. Maybe there just aren’t that many people around anymore with good taste in music.

The band formed in 1990 in Great Yarmouth, England and disbanded in 2000 (officially, the band is on “hiatus.”). I was lucky enough to have seen them at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City in July of that year. Seven tracks from that show are included on a bonus disc on the limited edition of the CD, Wishville.

I think Like Cats and Dogs, the B-sides record, (is my favorite Catherine Wheel album), purely because it’s conceptually different from the studio records. All the songs were recorded very quickly and written very quickly. It just reveals a very interesting side to the band which I don’t think many people are that familiar with.

– Rob Dickinson

It’s not difficult to hear Catherine Wheel’s Pink Floyd influences. A cover of Wish You Were Here appears on the album Like Cats and Dogs. The art for every Catherine Wheel album other than Ferment was designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis fame. Hipgnosis was the team of designers who created most of Pink Floyd’s album covers, as well as most of the notable album covers of the 20th century.

You can see the similarities in the cover art of Pink Floyd’s Ummagumma and Catherine Wheel’s Wishville.

Singer/guitarist Rob Dickinson continues the band’s sound in his solo album, Fresh Wine for the Horses. His live shows include many Catherine Wheel songs.

The anthemic Heal appears on the album Happy Days, while another version of the song, called Heal 2, can be found on Like Cats and Dogs, an album that contained B-sides and out-takes. A live version of the song is presented here.

• Rob Dickinson’s MySpace page:
   http://www.myspace.com/robdickinson

Buy Happy Days MP3 download from Amazon.com.

Buy Like Cats and Dogs MP3 download from Amazon.com.

Buy Wishville Limited Edition CD from Amazon.com.

(Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?)

Hair-lines haven’t been kind to those in Oxford, UK lately. Just ask Mark Gardener of Ride (seen: here) or Adam Franklin who shed his infamous dreds around the time Swervedriver went on an indefinite hiatus in 1999. Although Swervies finally came to their senses and provided us with a knock-out reunion tour this past summer, Franklin’s dreds are still missing, but he and the band sound better than ever. In 1988, SWD jumped aboard the Alan McGee train (thanks to a demo passed across by their Oxford mates, hmph in Ride) and led a fairly successful career from the early-to-mid 90s’, but somehow still didn’t fit in with everything else. One element critics immediately associated them with was this monstrous guitar sound that was a mushroom cloud of heavenly goodness – supplied with ample riffs and soundscapes that could transcend the mind into madness without a single reach for another puff on a spliff. However, what everyone fails to mention is the fact that Adam Franklin possesses a powerful voice that often/always gets overlooked. It’s soothing and hypnotic, never reaching any Corgan caterwals or grandpa Vedder groans and to top it off, the man’s a poet. Take for instance this b-side, “The Hitcher” a Franklin staple as a solo artist (aka Toshack Highway) contains some of the sweetest streamlined love-song lyrics, disguised in metaphors and similies, and shines bright like a light from the parting clouds on a May morning. Here’s a sample: “You’re always far out in the midrange/All around the state boundary spillage signs/Somebody burnt down all the pylons/And you’re my passport through these mines/I get this feelin’, I wanna hitch a ride on your smile.”

Adam Franklin – “The Hitcher” (YouTube live @ Jackpot Records Portland)
Swervedriver – “The Hitcher” (Stream @ last.fm)
Swervedriver – “Duel” (YouTube)

(His Name Is Love)

The hardest thing a friend of mine had to do recently was to say ‘no’ to Rob Dickinson’s request to join his band as drummer for his solo stint, promoting his third-time-released debut, Fresh Wine For The Horses album. It’d be like me telling Radiohead I don’t want to be their 4th guitarist, oh but what a 4th guitarist I’d make. Unfortunate circumstances aside (my friend is managing a ton of bands, plus his own label and playing drums for 2 others including his own), there are few out there besides the ‘jock-jam’ audience who truly appreciate the girth and beauty that comes from Dickinson’s vocal chords. Like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel didn’t really blend in with the brit-pop and rave-scene at the time as their music was mostly guitar-driven, drowsy rock with Rob’s echoed yelps steering the ship into certain unchartered territories. They were just another band who missed out on the Creation Records sweepstakes (blame My Bloody Valentine’s over-spending on Loveless for that), as McGee decided to put all funds and faith in two brothers named “Gallagher” and instead of hearing “Phantom of the American Mother” or “Black Metallic” on radio-laced syndicate, we’re ever-blessed with “Live Forever” and “Wonderwall” ad nauseam.

Rob Dickinson – “Heal” (YouTube live @ FM 94.9 San Francisco)
Catherine Wheel – “Black Metallic” (YouTube)

Danny McNamara of Embrace – “The Good Will Out”

(This Is Music)

Take a look at this pose… yeah that one, right there. Bands like The Verve, Oasis, and The Charlatans UK have all dawned this look before…. so why does Embrace looked so scared? It could be the fact that for most of their career North America and the rest of the World has looked at them as some kinda poseur act, a Verve-lite if you will or that behind that fake, ‘tough’ exterior (the one they’re trying to cop in this photo) this West Yorkshire, UK 5-some are just a bunch of softies who spend Sunday mornings watching The Corries with Gran and helping mum peel potatoes for tea. If you’ve been one of the lucky ones who’s purchased their debut, The Good Will Out on a whim, ya know because they do those Stone Roses rock poses on the album cover with all the pomp and swagger you could hope for in an outfit from the British Isles, then you know that McNamara and brother Richard are no flukes when it comes to making you wince because there ain’t nearly enough lighter fluid in this world to keep your flame alight when these boys perform one of their million ballads. Sure, if you took all of em’ and placed them beside something like “Sonnet” or “The Drugs Don’t Work” their gold paint would flake apart during just one rainfall, but hey, I’ve been caught singing, “Come Back To What You Know” in the bath once or twice and “Fireworks” has been on epic-repeat since I was 19. But yeah, it’s all in McNamara’s voice who could guide you through the roughest of times if you’d just give him a chance. And if you get all the way through their debut disc, then you’ll be fortunate enough to find the closer, “The Good Will Out” where the McNamara bros. are like the Appletons (‘cept in male form of course) and if you see the crowd, they go ape-shit for these guys… You’ll never understand what Danny is going on about, but you’ll wait patiently with baited ear just like you would watching that bloated Keane singer reach for another plate of perogies.

Embrace – “The Good Will Out” (YouTube live @ Leeds)
Embrace – “Looking As You Are” (YouTube)

Grant Lee Phillips of Grant Lee Buffalo – “Mocking Birds”

(Mighty Joe Swoon)

If you claim to know a single thing about me, one of my most sacred ‘things’ is the fact that I adore Grant Lee Buffalo… well, the first 2 albums. Ever since I heard “Fuzzy” blaring from the stereo of a faraway pick-up truck while I was waiting for my dad to return from the bank, I just remember being transfixed to the sound, it was bewilderment and beauty all wrapped into one. Bewildered for the fact that I’d never know who sang this song as it chimed from one of CFNY Radio’s ultra-independent hour-long specials and beautiful because this voice was so mysterious and haunting, but comforting like a pillow all the while. Jump forward to a few years later when I was waiting for my dad again and from a different pick-up truck altogether (I lived on a farm for 20 years of my life, hence my run-ins with Fords), I heard this same voice and felt that same feeling once again, “one day this ground will break and open up for me I hope it will, I hope it will” sang this unknown figure and again, this dark and enchanting feeling came across me once more. Because we were still living in the age of Aquarius rather than the Internet, it’s not like I could just google the lyrics and figure out who it was, I had to run outside to hear the radio announcement name that artist and this time I had it pegged. Still it took me a while to finally get my hands on a GBL album (I would later borrow my older brother friend’s cassette tape and it never left my car), but Mighty Joe Moon (to this day) gets a spot on my top 10 albums of all time. Singer, Grant Lee Phillips and band spent most of their early career on the road touring in 1993 and during that span they saw all of America for the first time. Out of these travels came tales about Texas – “Lone Star Song” (written about David Koreshs’ cult) or forlorn twisted tales of love (“Happiness” and “Honey Don’t Think”) and other worldy history (“Last Days of Tecumseh” about the chief who died Chatham, ON Canada), the uncloaked Coventry girl “Lady Godiva and Me” and a brief history of time with the time-span of man’s inventions and all its evils in “Sing Along.” While all these great songs were written on the road and ready for recording, the major earthquake that rattled LA in early 1994 also claimed the house of Grant Lee and his wife, thus inspiring him to write the song “Mockingbirds” and hence the affermentioned lyric about the ground ‘breaking.’ Though the band has remained in relative obscurity despite sponsorship from bands like Smashing Pumpkins and R.E.M., Grant Lee Buffalo only really had a minor hit in “Truly, Truly” before calling it quits in 1998. Definitely one of the most underrated bands who definied the college alt-rock era and one of my favourite vocalists of all time. He’s like Neil Young, except sligthly less annoying.

Grant Lee Buffalo – “Mockingbirds” (YouTube)
Grant Lee Buffalo – “Lone Star Song” (YouTube)
Grant Lee Buffalo – “Truly Truly” (YouTube live @ David Letterman Show)

Finn Andrews of The Veils – “Vicious Traditions”

(The Seldom Seen Kid)

The worst part about Finn Andrews (singer of The Veils) is that he was only 17 when he wrote most of the songs that appear on the band’s debut, The Runaway Found. Kind of sickening when such talent and maturity could come from someone such an age, but what was even scarier was the prospect that he could only get better, and he did. Nux Vomica came out a few years later in 2006 and eclipsed its predecessor yet nobody was listening. I have a feeling the buzz of this band is slowly going to take shape and they’re going to blow up big for all to hear. And if that never happens, I won’t mind either. At Lee’s Palace last Saturday, The Veils were openers for Liam Finn and never have I seen Lee’s that packed, and let alone *that packed* for an opening act. Yet here they were in all modesty (hanging out with the crowd by the merch table before the show) and bringing up Rough Trade label mate, Basia Bulat to help sing a new number called, “Scarecrow.” If that song along with others (something about ’sitting by the fire’ and another one about a ‘letter’) are any indications of what the new album (to be released in March) will sound like, then I finally have a new album to circle on my calendar… and boy it’s been years since I’ve been able to say that. A song that I’ve had plauging my mind for over a week non-stop is one from The Runaway Found called, “Vicious Traditions.” At first I didn’t think any thing of it because it was ever-brooding and seemed to plod nowhere, but after a few listens, I can’t put it down now. Rumours have it to be written about Joseph Stalin, Jesus Christ or umm George Bush (isn’t every song written about him, really), but hearing the lines, “he danced with devils in beautiful buildings” just sends a million shivers down my funny places. Those obsessed with all things Ashcroft and Bunnymen will appreciate the voice of Finn Andrews. I said to my friend during the show that it was hard to believe that this voice was coming from this frail, 50-pound New Zealander, and yet at the same time I thought, ‘I can also thank this little shit for keeping this blog from instinction, and keeping me up on a weeknight writing to god knows who and about god know what.’ Here

…and I wouldn’t have it any other way

The Veils – “Vicious Traditions” (YouTube)
The Veils – “Wild Son” (YouTube)
The Veils – “Calliope!” (YouTube)

Nice to see we inspired the Bond machine. Well, allegedly — in that we’re alleging it. Judge for yourself with these YouTube stills. The video for “Oceans” by Rob Dickinson was shot on a Nokia N93 cell phone in the Mojave Desert; June 2006; budget — the cost of lunch at Denny’s. Quantum of Solace was shot in the Atacama Desert; March 2008; budget — $224.87 million. The question is this: would Rob Dickinson beat Daniel Craig in hand-to-hand combat?

How we shot Rob Dickinson’s “Oceans” over two days in Palm Springs and Hermosa Beach. The “mermaid” is Liz Constantine, who has her own band — Dizzy X — with Dante Marchi, who filmed this behind-the-scenes video. You can see the final cut below.

Shot on the Nokia N93 in 2006, “Oceans” by former Catherine Wheel frontman Rob Dickinson was the first music video filmed on Nseries devices, the first cellphone music video to feature C.G.I. (check out the mermaid’s tail) and the first cellphone music video to feature underwater and aerial shots. Hope you like it.

Artist: Elbow
Album: The Seldom Seen Kid
File Under: Brit Rock
Recommended if You Like: Radiohead, Coldplay, Rob Dickinson, Peter Gabriel
Featured Track: Grounds for Divorce; The Bones of You

“I’ve been working on a cocktail called Grounds for Divorce…,” is the opening line from the rockin’ single, ‘Grounds for Divorce,’ off Elbow’s fourth and arguably best release to date, The Seldom Seen Kid.  The song is immense, snarling with emotion and emblematic of the theme of the album – the joys and sorrows of everyday life.

I’ve been obsessing over this album since it’s release in April.  Definitely one of my top albums for 2008.  I’m in love with Guy Garvey’s voice, which reminds me of Peter Gabriel at times and Rob Dickinson at others.  It’s beautiful and melodic, regardless. Especially the track, ‘The Fix’, in which Guy collaborates with another British crooner, Richard Hawley.

Elbow is one of those Radiohead-esque English bands that emerged from the wake of The Bends and OK Computer in the 90s.  For whatever reason, Coldplay was the band the masses glommed onto while Elbow remained in relative obscurity, despite their abundance of critical accolades.  Lucky for you, you now know better. 

Get this album free via eMusic’s 50 Free MP3 Promo

buy it at insound!

It’s hard to think of a band that was greater for longer with less payoff than the now-defunct Catherine Wheel. From 1992’s staggering debut, Ferment, through their much (and unfairly) maligned 2000 coda, Wishville, CW gave us three brilliant records, two good ones, and an outtakes/B-sides compilation (Like Cats and Dogs) that was better than most of the best original studio efforts being released today.

Oh yeah, and a lot of insanely great (and obscenely loud) live shows. I was lucky enough to see them three times (and managed to escape without lasting nerve damage), and rate the 10-minute encore of “Black Metallic” that closed the show on the Wishville tour as one of the most outstanding moments in my nearly 30 years of live show attendance.

At no point along the way did Catherine Wheel score anything remotely like the popular response they deserved (although, to this day, I wonder if they might have been close with 1995’s Happy Days, only to get shoved aside by the similar, but inferior Bush CD, Sixteen Stone; would CW have become massive stars if only Gavin Rossdale had been slightly less pretty?) After the disappointing turn with Wishville the writing was clearly on the wall.

Dark, sad, unhappy days, as I periodically checked the band’s Web site, only to see that it hadn’t been updated…

Eventually, though, front man Rob Dickinson launched a solo career, releasing Fresh Wine for Horses in 2005. And again, the reaction was underwhelming. If you follow the rock and pop music worlds with any sort of critical eye at all, there’s nothing new about a great band getting ignored. But even knowing how fickle and fucked the music industry is, it’s still hard to fathom how an artist who’s this fame-worthy gets stonewalled.

So, try, try again. Now back with Fontana, Catherine Wheel’s original label, Dickinson has reworked Fresh Wine, added a track (the soaring “End of the World”), and also recorded a second disc featuring acoustic remakes of six CW tracks (“Black Metallic,” “Crank,” “Ma Solituda,” “Show Me Mary,” “The Nude,” and “I Want to Touch You”). The result is nothing short of stunning.

I realize that the dominant response to corporate excess these days is the “indie” ethic – music so small and faux-authentic and unambitious it’s almost embarrassing to talk about it. In that context (for a good point of reference, say you’ve been listening to too much Bright Eyes or Great Lakes Myth Society) Dickinson’s effort probably seems bombastic beyond reason. But he’s a man who has always swung for the fences, and you’ll never hear me complaining about an artist aiming too high.

As has been the case more often than not, Dickinson has again hit the ball out of the park. From anthemic moments like “My Name is Love” to quieter, more reflective offerings like “The Night,” which tonally echo the back half of CW’s last great record, 1997’s Adam and Eve, this suite of unrepentantly romantic songs promise the sun, the moon, and the stars. Some of them deliver on the promise while others … over-deliver.

A lesson for the indie crowd: authenticity isn’t about a lack of production skill or the inability to play your instrument, and quietude isn’t a substitute for maturity, depth and craftsmanship. Listen and learn.

So today we honor Rob Dickinson with a few clips that will hopefully make you want to explore his music further. We’ll begin with the video for “Oceans,” the lead single from Fresh Wine for the Horses.

This is a live performance of my favorite song on the disc, “End of the World.”

I think this should be my new theme song: “…you just gotta smile / and hang out with intelligent people”

Next time you need an anthem, might I recommend “My Name is Love.”

Catherine Wheel fans should appreciate this one.

What the heck – here’s the vid for CW’s original version.

One more…

Give Fresh Wine a listen – you can sample it all free at eMusic. Happy listening….

Die siebenSONGS 13 beginnen mit einer echten Nummer 1, zumindest heißt das Stück der Band Julie Ocean aus Washington so. Aber auch der Rest kann sich hören lassen: Verschmustes aus Idaho (The Very Most), geradezu Klassisches aus Chicago (Joe Pug) und Dramatisches aus Texas (Shearwater). Der Brite Rob Dickinson (Catherine Wheel) sorgt für den “großen Popsong” im Set, Vetiver aus San Francisco fürs Rustikale und The Submarines aus LA schließlich für eine knallbunten Abschluß. Frühling!

Julie Ocean – Number 1 Song

The Very Most – Good Fight Fighting

Rob Dickinson – The End Of The World

Joe Pug - Hymn #101

Shearwater – Rooks

Vetiver – Blue Driver

The Submarines – You, Me And The Bourgeoisie

Be sure to visit the PPI main site for our extensive coverage of Canadian Music Week. Photos are now available for viewing and editorial licensing at PressPhotoIntl.com. 

Daniel Victor of Neverending White Lights accepts the award for Favourite Video of the Year for Alexisonfire’s “Rough Hands” at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the Independent Music Awards Ceremony (The Indies) as part of the Rogers MusicStore Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada, Mar. 8, 2008. (Neil Domingues/PressPhotoIntl.com)

14 January 2005

Ex-Shoegazer Rob Dickinson at the Tractor

Shoegazers don’t die, they pick up an acoustic guitar and get on with life. Mark Gardener of Ride has done it, Adam Franklin of Swervedriver has done it and so has Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel. In fact all three of them got together and did a show at San Diego’s M-Theory records back in 2005. This is the second time in about a year that Dickinson has been through Seattle (he played the Croc last January).

It was just Rob, an acoustic guitar, some effects pedals and a harmonica. The Tractor was sit down style for this show, and it seemed like the audience was full of genuine fans. Camera flashes were going off like it was the Olympic figure skating long show, and people were yelling out old Catherine Wheel songs left and right. Dickinson acknowledged a few requests, not by playing them, but by saying, “that’s a good one!”

Dickinson pulled songs from every Catherine Wheel album, but also did a fare share from his solo record Fresh Wine for Horses. I’ll admit I was there to hear the Catherine Wheel songs. Fresh Wine for Horses is an okay record but the songs on it don’t come close to most of the Catherine Wheel discography. I would have been happy hearing him do all of Adam and Eve, the criminally overlooked 1997 record (overshadowed at the time by Radiohead’s OK, Computer). The two songs he did from Adam & Eve (Delicious and Future Boy) both translated well to his acoustic guitar. For that matter, all the songs last night lost nothing in their acoustic form, which I think, pays tribute to Dickinson’s and Catherine Wheel’s song writing. Actually, I think all of the shoegaze bands from the early 90’s have been overlooked for their excellent songs that they wrote. It’s like all of today’s shoegaze revivalists/imitators have got the sound down, read pedals and distortion, but the songs are most often missing. Dickinson showed us again and again last night with Crank, I Want to Touch You, Black Metallic how many great songs he’s written. Even the stuff from his solo album was captivating, though I’m still not sold on the album.

Rob is making his way down the west coast and then jumping over to Toronto for a gig. Maybe he’ll be back this summer. Think of what a great package it would be to get the likes of Catherine Wheel, Ride, Swervedriver, Chapterhouse, Boo Radleys, Revolver, Moose, and headliners MBV. So bring on the acoustic shoegazers!