Should - Like a Fire Without Sound

by Benjamin Howarth

published: 8 / 7 / 2011

Label: Words On Music
Format: CD

Excellent third album and first release in over a decade for influential Texas-based slowcore band, Should

Review

Should spent the early 90s combining the noise experiments of shoegaze, the dreamy prettiness of dream-pop and the sedate pace of slowcore. They recorded two full length albums, and built a small fanbase without ever quite breaking through to a wider audience. The band put this down to “limited distribution and an aversion to touring,” two problems it’s hard to overcome. After a hiatus that has lasted much more than a decade, they return with an album that leaves me wishing they had never gone away. During this break, Should’s main songwriter Marc Ostermeier has concentrated on running the Words On Music label, and has also begun a solo career making music that tilted his familiar dreamy textures into a more ambient direction. Now back with his longstanding Should collaborator Tanya Maus, Ostermeier (whose brother Eric was once part of Should, but isn’t involved this time) has kept much of what made ‘A Folding Sieve’ so influential for slowcore bands like Low and Coastal. However, where before songs were drenched in distorted guitar, there is now a clean production bringing the gentle melodies to the fore. There are some obvious indie reference points to highlight. The combination of male/female vocals with subtly intricate guitar lines brings to mind Yo La Tengo. But there are also hints of 80's pop in the clean production lines. This is a good album for a lazy Sunday morning. But when you listen closer, on headphones, there’s plenty more bubbling away under the surface. I hope it isn’t another decade until their next album, because you feel Ostermeier is onto something very very special here. I can’t wait to hear what he does next.