Shore Dive Records continues to pump out one solid, intriguing release after another, and this re-issue of Xeresa’s self-titled album from 2017 is no exception. Described as “a musical project based in Brighton UK fusing electronic beats, shoegaze sounds and guitar lines inspired by minimalist composers”, the album starts off with “Raining On The Skyline” featuring Demi Haynes. After some ambient, atmospheric noise to create the texture and mood of the song, Demi starts to sing around the one-minute mark and her voice simply gives you chills. It is an interesting track, as with some of the modern “shoegaze” bands you sometimes lose some song structure if there is too much focus on effects, verb and noise. This track is a unique blend that gets the balance right. The strong melody of Demi’s vocals take this song to another level and I understand why it was put first on the record. Track 2 is three minutes of spacey instrumental sounds. Track 3 features another guest vocalist Terry Verdecia, who brings her own unique style. When she sings “With you I feel so golden, like I’m finally on the right track”, you feel it in your bones. We all love to engage in longing, don’t we? A not-so-secret vice? Is there peace? Is there a right track? A track at all? I digress..
“Cathedral Funk” starts with more ambient noise.. I’m starting to get a feel of this project now, you never fully know where you are going, but after a couple tracks you know it will be somewhere good, somewhere worth your time to travel to. I feel like sipping wine but it’s 7:43 am. “Fall Into The Night” features Demi Haynes again, clearly a highlight of the record. It sounds like a live bass on this track, I guess I could be wrong, but the feel of it works really well with the catchy guitars and vocals. More incredible pop underneath layers of interesting electronic sounds.
This record is 16 tracks. You feel as if you are flying through space landing on different planets and stars, minute to minute. Can you land on a star? It is somewhat difficult to be concise about this record. It is experimental and structured at the same time somehow. Sometimes there may be a tad too much of the “spacey sounds” for my tastes, but this is a subjective thing. I long for the pop and melody underneath. We all long for different things, don’t we? I wonder what planet Xeresa is flying to next. Will Demi be there? Terry? I hope so. I want to sip some wine, a good strong pinot grigio, but it is 7:57 am.
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- Joe Pugsley