Listen to ... PLEASURE CENTRE – Tungsten
Shattering shoegaze misconceptions with an emphatic track to close the band's debut EP: the weight of it all.
Image credit: @luke_hallett_
New-wave is alive, kicking and preparing for a triumphant return to indie prominence – and Scarborough-based four-piece PLEASURE CENTRE are one band helping breathe new life into it.
As soon as the first few reverb-laden guitar notes hit – and Aneela’s opening stream of consciousness transitions into wonderfully sustained vocals that bleed effortlessly into the layers of delayed noise behind it – expectations are set. You’ll expect a poised, anthemic wave to wash over you, and you won’t be disappointed.
It’s a track that shatters my long-held misconceptions of the often neglected shoegaze sub-genre, too. When seeing shoegaze thrown around, I immediately think of elongated, self-aggrandising pieces that are prominently style over substance.
That couldn’t be further from the truth when listening to Tungsten. It only takes 30 seconds to get into the first verse of the track – which itself only lasts just over three minutes. Fundamentally, it’s accessible and leaves you wanting more: inviting you in for repeat listens to see what you’ll uncover next.
Look beyond the sombre wall of noise and each time you do, you’ll find something new to unpack: the drum verse drum fills that give listeners something else to digest, the lyrical symmetry that book-ends the track, or the expanse of noise that you can quickly find yourself lost within. It’s no wonder that each band member wields multiple instruments to create a sound exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.
As the closing track on their debut EP – the weight of it all – Tungsten has some lofty responsibility: to do justice to a brilliant first offering and keep eager audiophiles coming back for more. In that sense, it’s a clear success.
There’s plenty on the horizon for PLEASURE CENTRE, so keep an eye out on their latest and greatest links here. And as always, let us know your thoughts on the track in the comments and over on Instagram.