In an inbox full of PR spam, the emails that stand out the most are the ones actually written by the musicians themselves, a sort of personal pitch. So when I received an email from the Easthampton, MA duo Kindling, I actually stopped to listen to the track.
What I heard was much more powerful than I expected. Stephen Pierce and Gretchen Williams craft the sort of fuzz-laden shoegaze that immediately evokes comparisons to the genre’s heroes, particularly Bilinda Butcher of My Bloody Valentine. The first single from the band’s upcoming Spike & Waves 7″, “Sunspots”, is blinding; The dreamy and euphoric vocals float above sweeping guitars, causing Kindling to sound much larger than a duo.
Spike & Wave drops July 17 on Moon Sounds.
