You can place Serena Maneesh into a number of columns, but neogaze is not one of them. Their 2005 eponymous record hinted at a band on the verge of realizing their sound, and Abyss in B-Minor is the result of such ephiphanies. Abyss in no way resembles a rehashing of my favorite movement in rock music. Sure, the essential elements are there – hall reverb, dynamic loudness, a blend of ambience and pop sensibility, blurred album art, and all the general ad infinitum shoegaze/dream pop reference points. However, there’s an intrinsic punk-informed aura about the group. They eschew the trends that defined the tongue-in-cheek shoegaze term. There’s no detachment, no navel staring, no aloofness – Serena Maneesh is a rough around the edges, delightfully gutteral collective. They will beat your ass. If you don’t believe that, exhibit A: they recorded this album in a cave outside Oslo. However, outside the album’s epic bookends, Abyss in B-Minor is a body of pop songs, and each one is deceivingly brutal under the shimmering surface. If you could strip away the nasty gale of noise and fuzz that I imagine the apocalypse would sound like, you could possibly play this record around your folks. But since that’s not the case, I don’t recommend it.
Unlike that Raveonettes album that (actually) was entirely in B Minor, Serena Maneesh is all over the place. You’ve already been treated to the bubblegum pop of “I Just Want to See Your Face,” but the following track “Reprobate!” really showcases what makes this band great, demonstrating their sweet and sour technique. The vocals are crystalline, delicate, almost gossamer, yet backed with a wailing squall of noise that’s more apropos to a Wolf Eyes jam session than a traditional dream pop love song. “Melody For Jaana” recalls early Slowdive without replicating it – the band’s visceral harshness still runs afoot even in slower, more ambient numbers. “Honeyjinx” is one of the more interesting moments on Abyss, a song that wavers between dissonance, Swans-style dungeon doom rock, a soaring vocal pseudo-chorus, and a pastiche of electronic snippets as the composition implodes on itself. Intriguing and enjoyable. “Blow Yr Brains In the Morning Rain” captures an uncharacteristic (for these guys) sloppy garage aesthetic and juxtaposes it against a celestial sheen and panning, layered rhythms. “D.O.W.S.W.T.T.D.” shows the band at its most synth-driven, while “Magdalena” ends the album with flutes and surprisingly sunny vibes for a sect of Scandinavian individuals. See? All over the place.
As a whole, Abyss in B-Minor is much more song-focused than their self-titled release, though also a little less cohesive. However, the craftiness in which Serena Maneesh can swing in and out of moods and tones like a sine wave is both jarring and exciting, separating Abyss from previous efforts (not to mention other newgaze groups) and marking a more mature and complex album. Expect to see Serena Maneesh placed among the best of the year.
Abyss in B-Minor is out on 4AD on March 23.
Fagen-Becker Quality Rating
MP3 :::
Serena Maneesh – Reprobate
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