San Francisco’s Balms are known for their finely crafted shoegaze and dream pop textures, but they’ve been off the grid since 2014’s self-titled EP. Busy at work on their first full LP, this is the first fruit of that labor, exclusive to this compilation. “Nothing In” engineered, mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley at the Atomic Garden. Balms on Bandcamp: balms.bandcamp.com
Melodic alt-pop in the vein of Soccer Mommy is driven by winding guitar lines and augmented with dreamy shoegaze elements. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 14, 2021
The debut EP from Tokyo group re:lapse delivers four gorgeous shoegaze songs, with billowing clouds of guitar cradling far-off vocals. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 27, 2021
Castlebeat’s “VHS” offsets bright, jangly songs with smoky, lo-fi production, giving their pie-eyed melodies a sense of mystery. Bandcamp New & Notable May 7, 2018