Honeyslide
Drippin/Deep Architecture
Critical Heights
Street: 07.23
Honeyslide = Weed Hounds + JAMC
This double A-side bucks most retro-brain nu-gaze trends by not trying too hard to ape MBV, and just sort of arrives there nonchalantly. Drippin comes from the garage, and not strictly Loveless—a discordant twee punctuates the occasional stretch of bliss, particularly on “Deep Architecture,” which drives itself into oblivion with the same guitar warbling of the indie-rock axegods Mascis and Moore. Four songs cuts it a tad short—these things generally need an hour to unfold—but cogent songwriting and enough sprawl to beckon conscious listeners into its shallow K-hole means the record is catchy and replayable where it needs to be. Though it always comes back to Earth in the end, it’s willing to stray from its own path for a titch. –Dylan Chadwick