Once heavily maligned, shoegaze has had quite the renaissance in the last decade. Thanks to metalheads embracing the ethereal, other worldliness of the genre, we’ve started to see bands popping up who were barely toddlers (or, scarily, not even born) whenever My Bloody Valentine put out Loveless. And one such act is Virgins.
From Belfast, and featuring Michael Smyth from Paper Tigers, Virgins have been on the go since June 2021. Having recently signed to Galway based label Blowtorch Records, their debut EP is due out in October. However, they have done us a favour by releasing new single ‘Signalling’. Tapping into the current psyche, as well as offering an escape from it, via the sonic landscapes of shoegaze and filtered through the sensibilities of nu-gaze, you can definitely hear influences from Nothing, MBV and ‘Gish’ era Smashing Pumpkins, which is no bad thing if you ask me. Vocalist Rebecca, a member since April, is the secret weapon here as she has the right mix of yearning and mystery in her delivery which counteracts beautifully with the abrasive, yet unearthly, riffing.
While their debit single ‘Vows’ suffered somewhat from having vocals that could do with being a little less prominent in the mix, this is a stellar single that will serve as a soundtrack for the changing over from summer to autumn while also offering up a little sonic kick to snap you out of the autumnal blues.
Long live shoegaze.
