Bearhug - So Gone (2014)

Bearhug return with their second album, ditching the dream-pop of debut Bill, Dance, Shiner and sharpening their approach by adding endless amounts of distortion. The band is now mining ’90s-era indie-fuzz, and it’s a wise move – Bearhug fit the mould perfectly. The vocals sound like they’re sung through a megaphone at the back of a cathedral, the guitars played through amps on the verge of exploding.

Pick any song at random and you have a potential new favourite. Opener ‘Borderlines’ storms out of the gate, a mess of fuzz and melodic guitar. At only two-and-a-half minutes long, there’s absolutely no room for vocals. ‘Animal’ is similarly frantic, the melody sounding like it’s trying to catch up to the rest of the song. ‘Habit Wave’ sounds like a hit from a bygone era. It could almost be described as blissful, were it not for the multitude layers of ever-present, crushing distortion. Closer ‘Until We Say’ dials down the distortion (a bit) for the sole moment of clarity on the album and ends it on a beautiful note.

So Gone is a record filled with Sonic Youth meets Superchunk gems, all covered in a shoegaze glaze. It’s a great guitar album, made in an era when they’re few and far between.