The roots of Michigan’s SHORES tap the wellspring of RED HOUSE PAINTERS, BEDHEAD, THE NEW YEAR, CODEINE, LOW, SPAIN, SEAM, and SLOWDIVE. The first haunting note of “Coup de Grace” rings out, clear and clean, followed in time by another drenched in natural reverb, the living sound of a dark, wooden room. Not a cathedral, not a church, but a place of warmth and comfort nonetheless. The patient crescendo builds, the percussion kicks in, rocketing the dynamics into full play. Clean guitars, loud drums, clear vocals. Purposeful over casual, downbeat yet forward moving. Dark, not depressing. A rainy day, a late night adventure. —Var.

“No Idea fans aren’t going to understand what the hell is going on when they hear this.” That’s how Shores’ drummer John Massel pitched his new band to me last year. To tell the truth, he’s probably dead on with that assessment. Set to a slow, building tempo and with nary a chorus to be heard, Shores’ hearkens back to the downbeat melodies of the dubiously-popular “slowcore” movement of the late ‘90s. The warm embrace of Brian’s reverb-laden vocals echoes amid the dreamy soundscape crafted by his elegant guitarwork as the pensive, deliberate drums create a minimal backbone upon which the songs rest. With grandoise structures that flow from gentle, minimal arrangements into sprawling climaxes, it’s easy to lose oneself in the haze of lush harmonies and rolling, rhythmic cascades. Maybe it’s easiest to sum things up by saying that this is the kind of record you want to put on when you’re in the mood to lay on your floor all morning in a catatonic opiate daze. —Cam