Simmer

Paper Prisms

Written by: PP on 11/11/2016 19:28:45

For a while now, UK has been on the grunge revival bandwagon in its modern incarnation, spearheaded internationally by Title Fight and, in the UK, by their likeminded peers in Basement. It's a more atmospheric and drawn out soundscape with plenty of reverb and echo effects added, but the guitar tone is essentially the same, even if the vocals are more spaced out and droning in comparison.

Enter Simmer from Cheshire, UK, and their debut full-length "Paper Prisms", which finds itself somewhere exactly between Title Fight's "Floral Green" and "Hyperview" albums. The guitar-driven soundscapes are beautiful and expansive, leaving behind an echoing sound that screeches wonderfully in its effect-laden glory. It's similarly atmospheric and mood-driven as Balance And Composure, and as contemplative and introspective as Basement's music. So they are in good company, even if originality is lacking (Title Fight clone is the precise description). So why bother with "Paper Prisms" in that case? Well, if the whole dreamy, faded-back atmospheric singing over reverb-laden guitars is your thing, Simmer do it better than most in the genre.

Opener "Faze" is an excellent introduction to the band given its note-by-note, "Hyperview"-inspired take on the genre, whereas album highlight "Charles" goes all out on extended, dreamy, shoegaze-inspired vocals and faded back, coarse backing vocals. "Antwerp" and "Sinewy" are other good examples of the reverb/echo dynamic excelling, underlining why so many have been drawn to the style in the past couple of years. The genre is not saturated yet, so Simmer fit right into the mix, especially considering "Paper Prisms" is a huge improvement from their previous EP "Yellow Streak" from last year.

Download: Charles, Antwerp, Sinewy, Faze
For the fans of: Title Fight, Balance And Composure, Basement, Ivy League TX,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 04.03.2016
Dog Knights Productions

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