Shoegaze is all about the transformative effects of, well, effects. Named after the reclusive types who first stared earthward at their massive collections of guitar pedals, the genre has revolved around artists who use reverb, phasing, and echo to conjure up scenes far removed from the makeshift bedroom studios in which they often record.
Wilding is a band that’s just getting started, but a low-budget approach doesn’t stop them from blasting off into other realms in their new video.
The L.A. three-piece only appears in a few low-res shots the “Ghost Deer” visuals, performing in a dimly lit room. Otherwise, the video is made up of clips of spaceship launches and astronaut training. It’s a slapdash, collage-style look, but when you’re an under-the-radar band making music that sounds like it’d only be visible via space-trained radar, how else are you going to produce suitably interstellar footage?
“Ghost Deer” is a conversation between the low and high ends of sonic frequency, the equivalent of astronauts communicating with Houston mid-flight. Chunky guitar and bass tones sit below, vibrating life into everything above them like a massage chair, while Dave Woody’s pure, angelic vocals fly above the mix with only a few stray decibels of quavering guitar noise along for the ride.
The song is reminiscent of fellow Los Angelinos Autolux more than anything else, as Woody’s voice and guitar tone are dead-ringers for singer/guitarist Greg Edwards’ work on 2004’s Future Perfect. Fittingly, Wilding’s sound is a bit more skyscraping and effects-driven– whereas Autolux made love songs for hazy city nights, they make swooning guitar pop at 500,000 feet.
Stay tuned for WIlding’s debut album, Secular Music, which will drop on April 28th via Friendship Forever.
