Our featured single this week is “Softer“ by Belfast shoegaze / dream pop band Virgins.
The song “an instant dance gaze classic”, features on their upcoming album ‘nothing hurt and everything was beautiful‘, due out on April 11 via Blowtorch Records. Pre-order your copy here.
On Softer, Michael Smyth and David Sloan’s guitar complement each other perfectly, adding layers of shimmering choral accents, glide guitar trem-arm rhythms, reverse reverbs and lush jet plane phaser sounds. All driven by James Foy’s thunderous drums and anchored by gloriously fuzzed out bass of Brendy McCann. While basking in this audio bath, Rebeccas vocals offer a guide point to navigate through the hazy requiem.
It truly is a collaborative effort with the gazy hand of producer Jonny Woods setting the controls for the heart of phased, blissed out fuzz. Speaking about it, they say:
“Softer is a shoegaze tour-de-force built around a looping lead riff and the ethereal yearning vocals of Rebecca Dow. Gargantuan walls of dense, beautiful reverbs and dreamy fuzz, transport the listener to a world of abstract beauty and bliss.”
Watch the Ebony Alexander-directed video below, it was shot in Belfast in December 2023.
To celebrate the release of the album, the band will play two album launch parties in Dublin and Belfast.
April 26th, Dublin – Sin E
April 27th, Belfast – Deers Head
nothing hurt and everything was beautiful Tracklist:
- s o f t e r
- s l o w l y, l o n g
- c l o s e
- p a l e f i r e
- a d o r e
- d i s a p p e a r e r
- s u n s p o t s
- t e n d
Photo credit: Ebony Alexander