Swimming in a Soundpool...

Here is something new to my ears from NYC’s Soundpool, who have just recently put out their debut album On High through Aloft Records. Without having any knowledge as to what this would sound like beforehand, I was pretty delighted and surprised to hear that my speakers were churning out some sort of odd extensions to what I am guessing is shoegaze.

Soundpool have crafted them selves a unique sound here. You can’t immediately pigeonhole this as straightforward shoegaze, because it’s just not. Yeah, such definitely influences it and it definitely fits that mold probably more so than anything else, but the end result is something much more. To put it best really, this is shoegaze meets space rock. Even there, I don’t think that properly labels it. While being very space rock driven, with the inclusion of melodies derived from synthesizers, the music is very upbeat. It’s almost to the point where one could just as easily find their selves dancing along to this. The vocals are very similar to the likes of Slowdive, with the practically whispered vocals from both Kim Field’s and John Ceperano, contributing to the ethereal quality of the music. As much as this is shoegaze, it pretty much serves as a perfect soundtrack for space travel.

Soundpool - On High [MP3]
Soundpool - Polyphony [MP3]

If you dig what you hear, you can pick this up directly from their website. Also, if you get the chance stop on by their MySpace for some more great tunes.