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01 Only Shallow
9/10This song means so much to me. This was the first shoegaze song I had heard. I have ranted countless times to people that the first instance I heard this song, I wanted to change my choice of first guitar from a black squier strat, to a Sea blue and golden 40th edition jazzmaster.
I think ‘Only Shallow’ is incredible. The chorus is one of the best examples at Kevins effects/production genius, and the serene yet fuzzy glide guitar in the versus, which like mine, was an introduction to shoegaze for many.
02 Loomer
8.9/10 There is just something so liminal I find in this song.
‘Loomer’ features just about my favourite lyrics on all of loveless. At over 2 and a half minutes, it's in a space much longer than an interlude but just a minute or two shy of a track, feeling like an almost complete dream that you slowly phase out of. Belinda’s performance here is accentuated in the ‘Chorus’, as the little riff the guitar responds as if lost in darkness yet still echoing back in harmony. I recommend this performance, as its a whole transcendence of the song itself.
03 Touched
4.5/10 I have a hate love relationship with this track. As much as I nerd out over tracks like these (It was made solely by colm, the bands drummer) I can’t stand listening to it. I don’t really enjoy it, and I think it takes experimentalism and saying ‘to hell with structure and sense’ too far for me to really grasp onto anything. I do love it as an interlude into the next track, however I do wish it was under 25 seconds in regards to that. Not much else to say.
04 To Here Knows When
8.8/10 As any loveless fan can tell you.. there is something indescribable about listening to THKW. It's pure majesty, the blend of the soft 'Ooh's the whole time, and the tamboruine, over that scream-like distant guitar.. the whole track feels like the embodiment to the visual expirience of a sunset beach or the northern lights, rather than the other way around.
No matter how many times I listen, I cannot predict when the track is ending; every time without fail, I fall into the little folds of that 3 chord riff, only to be hit in the heart with a burst of joy from...
05 When You Sleep
7.9/10 Forget what I said, this is the most pop track on loveless, but it still doesn't lean too much into farmiliarity: I love the combined vocals section, as it makes it sound like some combination between a flute, a synth, and a human, while not sounding robotic. I love how simple yet driving the bass is in this track, especially towards the end. Once again, a short lived yet still beautiful sounding interlude fills the last dozen seconds of this track.
06 I Only Said
/10 This track does get a bit repetitive for me.
07 Come In Alone
7.2/10Boring
08 Sometimes
/10 This track is beautiful. On relisten I didn't realize it was 5 minutes long, I had thought it was 2. The synth melodies between the little whispery sections sound so hopeful and mesmerizing, and I love the way the fadeout sort of delay repeats.
09 Blown A Wish
7.1/10Alright
10 What You Want
8.4/10 I love the way this track opens, it's one of the best abrupt intros to a track, with the guitar strums sounding a bit chaotic before slowly shifting into place with the drums.
11 Soon
8.8/10 The way this track works is so beautiful. The little clicks at the beginning with the littke drum Chime are wonderful. The tuning is mostly one note so the main riff thats played is just the open strings, then a simple barre, there, done. And when the 'Verse' guitar hits.. oh my god. I don't know what they did with the distortion but it sounds similar but hits so much harder than on previous tracks. I think besides loomer, this has the best bass writing on the entire album. It dances around with the synth, which is also repeating 2 notes, but twice as fast, slotting in right between every bass hit