Labels: Adagio830 – Echo Canyon
Review by: Alex Deller
Much as I’d like to claim some sort of sharp and left-of-centre insight into what Kindling are doing, it basically amounts to this: punk folks with a major My Bloody Valentine crush. While bands like Calm, or Duster tap into the more trudging, enervated end of shoegaze, Kindling have a lot of bounce to their songs … as though they’re taking a cut like ‘Only In Dreams’ as a reference point only to shoot it full of caffeine and tickle it into a state of near-jauntiness that suggests Seam at their most spry or the pushy gooiness of Superchunk. These six tracks were recorded at the same time as their ‘Galaxies’ LP for No Idea, and they fit perfectly with that material. The washed out chords, wobbly guitar lines and bleary vocals swirl together like ink diffusing in water, and though remembering the songs after the record’s stopped might be like trying to recall a dream after waking, the experience while it lasts is a very pleasant one indeed.