“Songs” by Pinkshinyultrablast

Although it’s a single track, the title of Pinkshinyultrablast’s Songs is no misnomer. Clocking in at almost sixteen minutes, the most recent release from the Saint Petersburg-based band contains at least four distinct movements that shift from effortlessly buoyant dreampop to abstract electronica and back again. (Although Songs was recorded around the same time as 2016’s Grandfeathered, it was only just released last year.)

As is the case with most of Pinkshinyultrablast’s music, the main draw is the band’s restlessness. Compared to many bands on the dreampop/shoegaze spectrum who want to simply bliss you out, Pinkshinyultrablast is far more raucous, their boundless energy almost punk-like at times. They want to overwhelm the listener with a torrent of glittery sound, from the coruscating guitars and crashing drums to Lyubov Soloveva’s airy vocals.

This approach is most evident during Songs’ first and third “movements.” (Or is it the fourth movement? They do all blend together.) In any case, it’s an exhilarating experience as Pinkshinyultrablast rip through Songs at a breakneck pace, only pausing slightly here and there to catch their breath.

Songs is currently available as a “name your price” download from Bandcamp.