The Totnes trio, with a dash of Sheffield steel, return with their third full-length effort, New Place, on March 7th via Broadcast Recordings. A little under two years on from the band’s sophomore effort, This House, Pale Blue Eyes have taken their cocktail blend of indie pop shoegaze, krautrock, and electronic experimentation and added a final ingredient—experience.
‘Third time’s the charm’ only loosely applies in this scenario, as the band’s previous two albums are brilliant. But after a handful of years honing their craft in the studio and on the road supporting huge names such as Slowdive and Editors, Pale Blue Eyes may well have created their magnum opus.
‘How Long Is Now’ fires up the record, teeing up the rest of the show perfectly with its dreamy feel, toe-tapping, and head-bopping drums—you feel as if you’re in some arcade in space. A soundtrack to a pinball machine in your wildest dreams. ‘How Long Is Now’ captures the feel of the album; it is an experience. It could easily soundtrack a film or a video game. Everything flows together in stunning fashion, and you feel like you’re moving with it.
Nostalgic in both sound and vibe, ‘Pieces of You’ is a true indie pop banger. Matt Board’s dreamlike vocals allow for a wonderful hook, yet it is somehow outdone by some of the best instrumentation ‘New Place’ has to offer. The entire record has such immersive and brain-tingling instrumentation that sometimes the wonderful vocal work is swept aside to fully take in and appreciate the jangly guitar and spacey synths.
‘On the Surface’ stands out; its buttery blend of voices, indie pop earworm drumbeat, and cinematic synths make for a seriously impressive album track. Released as the final single preceding the album’s release, ‘The Dreamer’ is everything the band aims to do—done right. Shoegaze superstars, Slowdive, took the band on tour last year, and if they rubbed any magic off on them, it is in this song. Beautifully haunting vocals, captivating guitar sound, and that shoegaze hint form arguably the best work the band has ever made.
A selection of sounds and synths that’ll get even the stiffest of folk moving arrives as ‘Rituals.’. Evolving into modernity and professionalism whilst retaining their signature DIY sound, ‘Rituals’ manages to sound like today whilst also easily slotting into ‘could have been on the FIFA soundtrack in 2015’ territory. Flying straight into ‘Our Lost’ Words’—simply a beautiful mess. The track feels like multiple tracks all wrapped up as one. ‘Our Lost Words’ encapsulates so much feeling and emotion into four and a half minutes. It feels like a whole Hollywood movie in DIY indie song form. Magical. A real feat.
Pale Blue Eyes fly from strength to strength on ‘New Place’. It is a rollercoaster of feeling—easing in, hitting the heights, and then slowing down (beautifully) towards the end. An album should be an experience; all musicians curate their long players for the optimum listening experience, but ‘New Place’ really does do that. The album plays like every song is the sequel to its predecessor. Sounding polished yet never losing the DIY feel, Pale Blue Eyes have curated a collection of songs that’ll make you think, dance, dream, laugh, and cry.