Drowner - You're Beautiful, I Forgive You

1. Glow 2. On Bright Days 3. Automatic Zen 4. Mirror 5. Metro 6. Stay With Me 7. You 8. Not There 9. Shadow 10. Our Last Day 11. Fear of Falling 12. Innocent

Drowner, on their first proper long player, presents a band at ease with experimenting outside of their shoegaze and dream pop beginnings.

Formed in 2010 by Darren Emanuel and Anna Bouchard and extended to a full line up in 2012 with the addition of Sean Evans, Mike Brewer and Ron Rushing, Drowner, whose music has been called "gigantic, impassioned shoegaze...ear-deafeningly loud and sonically breath taking...Hints of Spiritualized’s lysergic gospel..." by The 405, returns with a new album, You're Beautiful, I Forgive You.

With the band expanded to 5 pieces just as the tracks were being sketched in, the contributions of new personnel and a more live approach to recording make for an album with a solid rock sound and dynamics. Tracks like "Glow,"  "Metro" and the lead single "Stay With Me" reach massive intensities, while more downtempo songs like "Mirror" and "Not There" lose you in space and texture. Other tracks, like "On Bright Days" and "Auto Zen" take an amped-up and breezy, dream pop approach.

Building on the sonic energy of their first release (last year's self titled EP), Drowner, on their first proper long player, presents a band at ease with experimenting outside of their shoegaze and dream pop beginnings. Many of the same elements are here, but are more nuanced: layered vocals are brought to the fore, the arrangements are more confident and the balance of noise, shimmer and melody, more finely rendered. The instrumentation expands to include warm piano and slide guitar, bringing a hint of soulful country. True to their foundations, Drowner's You're Beautiful, I Forgive You, is smoldering and cinematic, lyrical yet powerful; a compelling and listenable record.