Her Vanished Grace have been offering their own take on modern shoegazing pop for over fifteen years now. Quite an achievement considering that this scene has generally been viewed as a short-lived phenomenon. Granted, the husband and wife team of Charles and Nance Nieland have never received more than a cult following but on their new album they still sound pretty vibrant.
A key element is that they are basically a pop band, albeit one who love fuzzy guitars. The interplay between Charles and Nance is as strong as ever, particularly when Charles’ breathy, nonchalant tones segue into Nance’s passionate cries for ‘Suddenly’ . After a breathless opening triple salvo, ‘Motor’ slows the pace down with some grinding bass and whispered vocals. ‘It’s Not Love’ is another fine song; its taut verse exploding into a harmonic chorus whereas the excellent grinding title track is the closest they get to a My Bloody Valentine level of greatness. The album’s only real flaw is that it adheres to a rigid formula but that won’t worry students of the FX pedals + boy/girl harmonies = pop equation.
Web Sites:
Her Vanished Grace Official Site
Her Vanished Grace MySpace
Further Listening:
Joy Zipper, My Bloody Valentine, Sky Drops
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