Four leaders in what is being called a “shoegaze revival” brought this unique tour to Theatre Fairmount. More than revivalists, these bands are transforming the shoegaze genre into something entirely new, evident in their sounds that lean into drone metal, folk, and screamo.
The night opened with Knifeplay, whose melancholic lyrics and slide and acoustic guitars added a bluesy undercurrent. As a girl who grew up in a rural town and moved to a cool “artsy” city, this resonated and captured that in-between feeling of never fully belonging to either space. There’s something familiar in their music for those small-town kids navigating urban spaces, and for those still in rural places who gravitate toward punk and noise. Those country-folk tones gradually dissolved into distortion, noise, and feedback, creating a compelling emotional arc.
Her New Knife followed with a slightly sharper, more deconstructed set. Their use of unconventional techniques, like guitarist Ben Kachler’s playing behind the nut, pushed their sound into more abrasive, experimental territory at times.
Glixen took the stage with shimmering riffs. Their performance balanced contrast exceptionally well, with Aislinn Ritchie’s bright, delicate vocals floating over sludgy guitar textures and hardcore rhythms. This duality gave their set a dynamic lift, feeding heavily off crowd energy.
Co-headliners Trauma Ray closed the night with a heavier bend, drone metal at times, focusing on tone quality as impact, with hypnotic intensity over complex riffs. Their unassuming stage presence can seem understated, but that restraint works in their favour, creating space for their heavy, hazy sound to hit harder.
The pit finally broke open here, with bursts of moshing and stage diving cutting through the fog of reverb. Tracks from their recent Carnival EP translated especially well live, emphasizing the weight of the sound and the impact of personal lyrics on an audience, as in “Hannibal.”
Review & photos – Maggie Rossy-Aulman
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