By: Krista Spies
With the world buzzing around us at all times, it comes as no great surprise that a new wave of shoegaze has come upon us, with its distortive guitars that create an atmospheric sound, to put it vaguely. St. Louis group Seashine, who in just their name fit the genre well in its misty meaning and pronunciation, have been fine-tuning their obscured sound in the local scene since 2016. They have now taken the songs they have been performing since then and mastered them into their debut, self-titled LP.
Seashine begins with “Shangri La,” which bangs into its hazy life with a quick drum pattern that then slows down to match what the vibe of the entire album is going to become. In contrast with some shoegaze bands, Seashine employs striking drum patterns and noticeable guitars on top of their distortion. Yet, the essential ethereal quality of dreampop still resides in the foundation of the track.
“Half Moon,” the second track, starts off much more calmly, with just a cloudy piano repetition and high-pitched guitar notes. Demi Haynes, frontwoman and songwriter of the band, enters with her signature bright-yet-foggy vocals, making the song sound like it belongs on the Soundtrack from Twin Peaks. Yet, about two minutes in, the musicians take a heavy turn, with the guitars’ distortion sounding like a massive wave instead of white noise. Drummer Bill Hudgins stands out in his hard-hitting work, and the sound as a whole shifts into a gothic, post-punkness. Then, after another 2 minutes, they strip it down again, but this time almost from a prog-rock influence with experimental guitars from Haynes and Kate Hayes. Throughout the entirety of the piece, Paul Rieger’s bass work remains crucial to the constant, dreamy beat.
Seashine ends with “Firelight,” and if you’re tired of someone describing shoegaze as “ethereal,” you might change your mind when you hear the beginning of one. The ringing, soft guitars and steady, soothing drum pair with Haynes’ sleepy singing. Once again, the band gets heavier as the song goes on, adding their own flair to the genre’s usual suspects.
Seashine’s self-titled album is a work just under a decade in the making, as the group finished with them in 2022, and then the engineering, mixing and mastering process started. Upon hearing the tracks they’ve been playing for years, like “It’s Alright” or “Witch,” mastered on this record, you can feel that time and effort in the pristine audio.
Demi Haynes poignantly wrote about this upcoming March 21 release, “These songs began life in 2016 and took their final form in 2022. A lot changes over 6 years, but we continued to find joy in performing and molding these songs together. And, ultimately, that togetherness is what they represent to me. Now that ‘Seashine’ is yours, we hope that you’ll let it remind you to hold those around you close. When you overcome obstacles for the sake of dear friendship, beautiful things can happen.”