Tamaryn – Tender New Signs

Stronger songs and more focused than the first album. A must for all fans of the shoegaze genre. Some really inspired fuzzy yet ethereal guitar here, while Tamaryns voice seduces with a druggy vibe. This album is full of substance and soul as well as style. My only criticism would be the production. Part of their music's charm is that it's not overproduced. There is an edge there. However, the lo fi aesthetic results in a very treble heavy almost shrill sound. I think a fuller warmer bass boosted tweak would make this album perfect

Out of all the shoegaze revival, this is a band apart. A perfect record.

In this sophomore release, Tamaryn excels in her songwriting and production from her debut album. This album is a must for anyone missing the 90's shoegaze. She brings that 90's sound into the new millennium while making it her own with her unique flavor of melancholy. A superior album to the first. Recorded and engineered well but not overproduced in any way which keeps it feeling warmer and grounded.

"I'm Gone" is a nice intro song in an early Slowdive vein. "While You're Sleeping, I'm Dreaming" is the ultimate hybrid of some of my favorite things: savagely beautiful Hendrixian guitar riff + whispered poison taunts, all rendered in an enveloping, nocturnal vibe. That song should've set the college radio charts ablaze, should've been an era-defining anthem... And it would've, back when sophisticated indie rock / shoegaze was played regularly on college radio. One of the ultimate songs to blast over and over again on the tape deck in the Impala. "The Garden" is the other main highlight, and should've been released as a single. (Of course, neither of those songs was released as a single... Brilliant job, indie label honchos.)