In our memories, Montreal band Prism Shores walked the boundary between guitar pop and shoegaze, and they did it well -- familiar but with just enough individual character to stand out from the crowd. But our expectations for Softest Attack, their new album, required readjustment upon the first listen. On this new outing the band leans hard into indie pop and jangle, and they do it with flair and a keen understanding of the diversity of the genre. The sound is bright and clear, the arrangements detailed and the instrumentation rich and layered. But there is nothing twee about the outing -- the amps are turned up and the rhythm section rocks. To our ears Softest Attack could represent Creation Records as well as Sarah Records, while evoking Teenage Fanclub and New Zealand's The Bats. If you like indie jangle and fuzzy indie rock, you owe it to yourself to check out this album.
Prism Shores are Jack MacKenzie (guitar/bass/vocals), Ben Gross (guitar/bass/vocals), Luke Pound (drums/guitar/vocals), and Finn Dalbeth (guitar/vocals). Softest Attack is our now via Meritorio Records.
