EP Review – Island of the Pears by Business School (2022) (Self released)
The jangle-gaze craze of a few years ago was dominated by the likes The BVs and The Luxembourg Signal. Such acts emphasized the beauty of ‘the gaze’ as the primary force of their aesthetic.
More recently, acts such as Swiss Portrait, Wake In June, Pool House and Community Swimming Pool, have reversed such a tendency to add a vibrancy that dispels the previous sense of dank. Therefore, Jangle-gaze is increasingly becoming about the riffs, the melodies and the usage of shoegaze inflections to augment and subsidize such primary beauty.
After the almost meditative beauty of September 2020′ Sunk In The Tide EP, this Alexei Pacholuk solo recording project, has returned with more energy to take his place at the shoulders of the modern jangle-gaze greats cited above.
Opener, Lose You, is one of the great tracks of 2022 so far. This might appear like gushing hyperbole, however just give it one listen, headphones on, in a totally dark room and let the beauty float through you. Gushh style, chunky surf laden riffs, juxtaposed with washed out vocals that feel like they emphasis the beauty of every note, this feels like an ode to glorious perfectionism. Similarities of aesthetic are also heard in the title track, albeit with the extra ‘indie arrow’ of dry twanging riffs added to the aural atmosphere.
Of course all jangle-gaze acts feel like they teeter on the brink of maudlin introspection and Business School is only different by virtue of how right they get this feel. Luster and Hang It Out (Again), reduces the tempo significantly, carrying the melancholy as a beautiful burden, sliding jangled riffs and faux melodies through a Middleneck style ambience that screams ethereal, albeit in gloriously subdued tones.
One of the great, as yet unsung acts. That really needs to change.
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