Following the release of their swooning debut album earlier this year, Gengahr pulled a Beyoncé and are back with their latest offering in form of their new surprise EP, Tired Eyes. The band took time out of their busy live calendar to produce the EP with Nicholas Vernhes.
Opening track ‘Tired Eyes’, live favourite and the song after which the EP takes its title, is, like the rest of the band’s releases, a true shoegazing experience. The dreamy, hypnotic vocals of Felix Bushe combined with the heavy beats and melodic guitars create a soothing atmosphere that makes you feel like turning up the volume and dancing with your eyes closed and arms in the air.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/225923910″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Next up is ‘Fade To Black’. It starts out with soft, soothing vocals and a gentle guitar line that are quickly accompanied by a speedy drumbeat to lift the mood. The distorted rhythmic guitars are the epitome of the track and create a massive wall of sound, which adds an amorphous quality to the song. The same thing goes for EP closer ‘Loki’: a truly stunning track drenched in atmospheric loveliness perfectly complimented by the edgy guitar and swooning vocals that make it sound as if you’re being serenaded by Bushe himself. The track’s rather abrupt end leaves you out of breath and wanting more, which is the perfect ending to this piece of art.
The thing about Gengahr is that they’re one of the few bands who manage to produce music that not only gets the vocals stuck in your head, but also the brilliant guitar lines and riffs, which perfectly shows what a talented and captivating band they are. They’ve got massive potential and are definitely one of the best indie bands to have emerged the past couple of years, and with an ever-growing audience lusting for their creative and slightly weird psych-pop/indie rock/shoegaze sound it’s more than understandable why they’ve come so far in such a short period of time and here at The Indiependent we can’t wait to see what the future’s got in store for them.
The ‘Tired Eyes’ EP is a part of the deluxe edition of A Dream Outside, released 30th September and it will also make B-side ‘Haunter’ and recent Fugazi cover ‘I’m So Tired’ available. You can listen to the deluxe album here.
Gengahr are going on their first headline tour round the UK and Europe this autumn – click here to get tickets.
Words by Caroline Oestergaard
@xylolime