Our favorite dream, shoegaze, drone outfit Wreaths are back with a new EP, Mr. Fang, that is an amazing and spacey listening experience. The Asbury Park band released one of our favorite albums last year and have taken all the elements that made that record great and honed them to perfection with these 6 songs. Wreaths sound is hard to pinpoint. Waves of guitars, drums and keyboards, vocals that are often muted, and an addictive, driving beat coming through an otherworldly filter comes close. Yes, it is as cool as that sounds.
Opener “Dog Days” starts as many Wreaths songs do. That is to say quietly, ethereal and dreamlike. Like an ambient episode of radio program Hearts of Space. Then out of the quiet one heavy guitar chord starts off the jam. We are now in familiar Wreaths territory. The muted vocals fit the music perfectly. “Traced and Hazed” is my favorite here. Imagine the greatest shoegaze band was abducted by aliens and were hurdling through space in a UFO and were inspired to write one kick ass song. This would be it. The song has a strong feeling of movement with the driving bass and drums propelling the listener forward. Top notch. The band slow it down for “Carolina.” This is as close as the band comes to a ballad and it works. Great synth here. “You’ll Never Forget My Love” is downright intense and funky with a dark edge to it. Gloriously angry.
“Supermoon” has a wicked opening lick and is just a down and dirty tune. All attitude with sinister vocals and confident guitars. The nine minute “Fumblin’ Dice” is a slow burner of a song that opens with some stark synth. Guitars creep up shortly making their way to the front of the mix. A wolfish howl and some indistinct moaning are the only vocals on the track. The song echoes the longer jams on the self-titled debut LP that just blissfully wash over you.
Wreaths are making some of the most interesting, challenging, and rewarding new music coming out of the Garden State. It is no wonder they have been showing up in “best of” lists, turned up the New York Times, and have found a fan in Marc Moran. Find out for yourself what the fuss is about with Mr. Fang. You’ll thank me.
The EP is available as a cassette from Cassanova Cassettes here.
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