Following a promising debut EP in 2012, Houston, Texas-based dream pop unit
Drowner
deliver volumes of glistening post-shoegaze bliss on their debut full-length,
You're Beautiful, I Forgive You
. Built on a solid foundation of the shoegaze greats,
lean more toward the sophisticated atmospheres of
Slowdive
and the kaleidoscopic pop of
Lush
or
Curve
than
My Bloody Valentine
's layers of tender noise, though the driving rhythms of tunes like "Stay with Me" and "Shadow" do recall
Loveless
' woozy trip-hop-like live drum loops. From their shoegaze foundations, the songs stretch out into different territories, with
Anna Bouchard
's subtly processed vocals either guiding the tunes or sinking into their sonic depths. Tracks like "On Bright Days" find
Bouchard
in the forefront, confident and airy over jangly psychedelic guitar that recalls the most optimistic moments of
Ride
Chapterhouse
in their hazy early-'90s summits. Elsewhere, the smoky churn of "Not There" finds her drawn-out harmonies channeling
Low
's
Mimi Parker
in a stoic, cautious delivery. Apart from
's shifting and often gorgeous experiments with vocals, textural guitar work throughout the album is another key component for its success. Tones change from track to track, often blurring into each other through layers of
Spiritualized
-like honeyed tremolo and resolving in walls of fuzz not unlike that of
Deerhunter
,
Mogwai
No Joy
, or other dream pop envelope-pushers. The 12 songs here tend to stretch out languidly, sometimes running into each other over the almost hourlong running time of the album. Though almost every track stands strongly on its own, the entire set can be a little tough to digest at once. However, the mood set by
can be something just as comforting and accessible as the best tracks can be immediately engaging. ~ Fred Thomas