I fight to get away
I feel that slow-motion descent
Empty thoughts
Evading all the pain
Los Angeles, ever a cradle for musical reinvention, welcomes Drypoint’s self-titled debut EP, a thrilling collision of shoegaze intensity and psychedelic textures. Formed by Dorian Ford (vocals and guitar), Brandon Penny (bass), and Gabe Jacobs (drums), the trio confidently dismantles conventional rock boundaries, sculpting familiar sounds into refreshingly bold shapes.
From the outset, Ford’s guitars cascade into expansive torrents of distortion, channeling My Bloody Valentine’s lush dissonance yet drenched in kaleidoscopic psychedelia. His vocals, spectral and otherworldly, soar gracefully, evoking The Veldt’s dreamlike depths. Jacobs’s rhythmic command is precise and intuitive, lending each track an elegant propulsion, while Penny’s fluid, grooving basslines effortlessly anchor the sonic layers, nodding subtly to Ride’s timeless bass sensibilities. Ford, formerly pushing boundaries in the metalcore collective Lions!Tigers!Bears!, injects Drypoint with a crucial outsider’s edge, spotlighting Black voices often sidelined in alternative music. The EP excels at blending nostalgic fuzz-drenched riffs with distinctly modern flourishes.
Drypoint unfurls with hypnotic allure, intricate guitar work, and rhythms orbiting like celestial bodies. This EP feels simultaneously expansive and personal.
Opening with “Shimmer,” which evokes the classic melancholy of 90s shoegaze daydreams, a blend of wistful vocals, bright guitar tones, and churning distortion creates a mysterious shadow-double that haunts the protagonist, embodying suppressed fears and hidden trauma. The familiar becomes disturbingly alien, illustrating a compelling psychological allegory for confronting and carrying one’s personal darkness.
Feed Me, Sarah is more propulsive and discordant in the classic My Bloody Valentine style, yet still retaining a melodic guitar riff and vocals reminiscent of Ride. The song boldly tackles themes of celebrity and personal unraveling through a surreal lens. Its hallucinatory imagery of smeared makeup and multicolored pills amplifies the tension between external validation and inner chaos, spinning into a distorted reflection on fame’s invasive glare.
Antares, named after the bright star that was eclipsed by the rogue planet Melancholia, is spellbinding, wrapped in a guazy guitar melody evoking classic Creation records, that immediately dives deep into existential tension, articulated through vivid cosmic metaphors. The track’s cyclical lyricism captures a profound emotional numbness, beneath which glows an intense yet distant emotional light, a resonant portrait of inner struggle.
Midnight Realm is wrapped in hazy distortion, like waking up from a dream that slips away. In the song, with luminous vocals drenched in 60s psychedelia reminiscent of Slowdive’s “Just for a Day,” Drypoint explores themes of inner conflict and self-deception as moments of clarity emerge from the gloom.. Metaphors of hidden tensions and deceptive façades reveal layers of anxiety and muted desperation, culminating in a cathartic acknowledgment of the weight behind maintained appearances.
Finally, Harmonium closes the album with warmth and delicate intimacy, featuring vocals as clear as a sunset and guitar tones that evoke the wistful, western shoegaze twang, one that kisses the horizon with love, hope, and regret. Capturing a transformative encounter that dissolves emotional barriers, the song’s vulnerability and strength entwine seamlessly, emphasizing the complexity and tenderness of deep personal connections.
Drypoint’s debut is undeniably a vivid and stirring entry, redefining the contours of alt-rock with a shoegaze-laced authenticity. Listen below and order Drypoint here.
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