Bloodhounds On My Trail - Escape

Bloodhounds On My Trail

Escape
self-released; 2014

3.6 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

The four-piece band Bloodhounds On My Trail comprised of JL. Green (vocal/guitar), CM. Donaldson (guitar), NW. Donaldson (drums) and JS. O'Hara (bass) are making shoegaze music. And why wouldn't they since it’s the best genre to never fully break. On their Bandcamp page they say,  “A love of shoegaze bands of the late 1980s to early ‘90s provided the catalyst for the formation of the band.” After listening to their first release EP entitled Escape and I’m sure that fans of the genre wouldn’t need that tidbit of info to tell you that.

The sound of their music can bear comparisons to The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive to name a few. What's nice about their sound is they don’t sound too much like any particular band. You notice certain things like a guitar part that sounds like Kevin Shields would play or a verse that sounds like something you would hear from Psychocandy.

The production is classic although a bit too lo-fi at times for my taste. The vocals hang low in the mix while the guitars are usually covered in a good amount of reverb and fuzz. Standard stuff but if they didn’t have it then it probably wouldn't be shoegaze.

For a band that has only formed recently they deliver some good songs. The opener “Old Fools”underneath the layers of fuzz is a catchy tune. It works on multiple levels and does the genre justice. I know the vocals are supposed to hang low but sometimes I wish they weren’t so buried as if they weren't there. Just a db higher would have been perfect.

“Dreamless” plants the vocals perfectly in the mix as Green sings, “Dreams Come & Some Stay Whole / But You're More Than Just A Dream, You See You're One I Hold / I Don't Want To Be The One Who Lets You Down / I Just Want To The One You Think Of When I'm Not Around.” The third track “Jolly” is most reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine while the closer “Silence, It’s Golden” is arguably the highlight.

Bloodhounds On My Trail serve up shoegaze as it is meant to be heard. The band still seems to be searching for their own identity but give them some time. 

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