Next week, Cathedral Bells – also known as the lo-fi dream pop project of Orlando-based musician Matt Messore – will release their highly anticipated third album Everything At Once. It’s the follow-up to their incredible sophomore release Ether, which expanded his unique take on shoegaze and bedroom pop, creating an invigorating amalgamation that transcends dimension. Messore writes, records, and produces everything on his own, but live, he’s accompanied by Griffin Marthe, Miguel Pais, and Jordan Bermudez, who assist in bringing this sound to life. Cathedral Bell’s music posits an immanence that is difficult to duplicate; ultimately, Messore’s synth work simultaneously immobilizes and expands emotion in a way that feels gorgeously otherworldly.
“Better Half” is, quite simply, one of the best tracks Cathedral Bells has ever released, and, additionally, perhaps one of the best shoegaze tracks I have ever heard. This is mainly because the track feels, for lack of a better word, absolutely immense. I was racking my brain over the past few days to find an image to compare it to, and here’s what I’ve come up with: it’s the equivalent, I think, of standing in the eye of a storm, watching as wind, darkness, and light swirl, morph, and blur around you. Messore’s gauzy, rarefied vocals are the intermediary between the glimmery, neoned-gossamer-like haze of synth and the rough, serrated percussion, relaying a cathartic narrative of absolute devotion that feels on par with the intensity of the instrumentals. “I’ll give you everything / I have to give,” Messore croons and croons until the track gracefully blinks out of existence, the sentiment undoubtedly transferred over to the next dimension.
Everything At Once is out 5/19 via Born Losers Records. Pre-order it here.
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photo courtesy of artist
kid with a vinyl 