Imagine the feeling of stumbling on an old sepia-toned photograph of your parents sandwiched between some musty smelling documents that you found while you were rifling through the basement looking for a book or an important piece of paper. Your dad’s wearing bellbottoms and is holding a can of beer and your mom looks taller and somehow more alive. Young and old at the same time. A dusty feeling of unfamiliar nostalgia, a memory that’s not quite yours but that you can still imagine.
Seattle band Supercrush has been perfectly soundtracking that moment through sporadic two and three song releases for a little shy of a decade. With their new release, Never Let You Drift Away, fans finally have uninterrupted access to sun-faded shag carpet riffs and maroon corduroy melodies.
Roughly organized chronologically, Never Let You Drift Away collects tracks originally recorded between 2012 and 2018, including two never before released bonus songs. Though separated by time, the album remains cohesive and each song is layered, lush and, blooming. They are catchy in a way that modern pop music gimmicks can’t hold a candle to; not so-saccharine-you-can’t-stand-it after 12 hours of inescapable repeated refrain, but catchy as in catches you by surprise. You can’t wait to go back and replay the record, to revel in wrapping back up in the songs.
Supercrush is able to take the surf-rock elements that Weezer used for evil and benevolently use them for the greater good. They masterfully combine the elements of classic guitar-based pop rock with dreamy and more complex moments of sincerity. An interesting way the collective nature of the album shines through is a gradual, but distinctive split between the front and back halves of the album. The listener can palpably feel the attitude shift from sweeter and lighter tones to a heavier undercurrent. There is the same lushness, without so many highs.
Distinct elements of early emo/shoegaze start peeking through in "Hidden Worlds" and "Rewind" signs off with a more solemn tone and a slight resignation. It’s as if the sparkling guitar overtones of earlier songs fades away like the hope for a failing relationship slowly being lost.
Never Let You Drift Away is like stumbling on a long forgotten treasure in a classics bin and finding a reason to dig into your Mom's old 12 inches and actually learn something about the history of the guitar music that could lead to such a modern gem, so fully indebted to the forbearers of rock, guitar based pop, surf, and psych.
Get It
- Bandcamp (Digital)
Tagged: supercrush
