Ringo Deathstarr
Colour Trip

I must ask you for an act of faith, which is to believe in the existence of the so-called "coup de foudre." My first (and for now only) coup de foudre happened in Padua, in November 2011, during the Smashing Pumpkins concert, and there's no girl involved (actually, yes, there is). Around 7:30 PM. Before Corgan & co., the opening band took the stage, consisting of three Texan guys from Austin: a gray-haired curly one (the drummer Dustin Gaudet), a curly one looking like a pimpled 16-year-old with a beautiful colorful Fender Jaguar in his arms (guitar and vocals Elliott Frazier), and a tall red-haired girl (bass, vocals, and sometimes guitar Alex Gehring) (there’s the girl!!) who greets with a “Hi! We are the Ringo Deathstarr.” One, two, three and KABOOM, I'm hit by a wall of distortions, echoes, delays, and a sweet voice that screams softly. There it is, the coup de foudre! Straight to the heart. Without warning. Inevitable.

I remain enchanted throughout the concert and as soon as they finish, I decide to rush to the merchandise stall to buy their album and what I find in my hands is "Colour Trip." The 2011 shoegaze masterpiece. "Colour Trip" is a very fitting title. The album is indeed a journey. A 32-minute long ride made of sounds, noises, and melodies atop a unicorn in dreamland.

The Ringo Deathstarr are inspired by the sacred monsters of shoegaze: The Jesus And The Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. Many comments on YouTube say they resemble MBV but that this similarity is not a bad thing. And indeed it isn’t. On the contrary.

It starts with "Imagine Hearts," where the starry Jaguar's tremolo from Elliott is tormented, and Alex's voice begins its acoustic massage. Then "Do It Every Time," noisy and gritty with the guitar sounding like an industrial cutting machine. Like, a milling machine. "So High" is a hippie stroll in a duet between Alex and Elliott: “bubblegum and ecstasy, make me feel the power, if you want to run with me, I will show you how”.

You reach the fourth track unknowingly. "Two Girls" is pure shoegaze. You listen to it 10 times before moving on. Electric gunshots. A sound wall as big as the Great Wall of China from which Alex's voice comes down like an angel descending into the underworld. It's an explosion of feminine emotions. The first time for everything (as in the video directed by Gehring). The pace remains high with "Kaleidoscope": a love request from an incurable dreamer asking the girl to send him a postcard from the rainbow.

With the sixth track, the three Texans allow us to catch our breath, letting us fall into a semi-catatonic state inside a vortex of loops where he sighs the words and she cradles you. A "Day Dreamy" indeed. Just enough time to close your eyes and a distortion brings you back to life. "Tambourine Girl" is cheerful and carefree. It brings to mind 8mm films. The next two tracks are the classic songs to blast in the car at your own risk of a speeding ticket. "Chloe" reaches out to stoner but can't quite touch it amid layers of sounds and Alex's choruses, while "Never Drive" tends towards post-punk with aggressive bass and drum rhythms supported by guitars multiplied by thousands through reverbs and delay. An army of Fenders like Tibetan monks in prayer. Approaching the end, "You Don’t Listen" is a filler track that nonetheless doesn’t disappoint and does its job.

The finale is poetry. "Other Things," as the title suggests, is something else. Alex's voice is the absolute star. It's almost electronic, with basses as deep as the Pacific Ocean and looping guitar feedbacks trying to tear the fabric of Klimt’s The Kiss.

"Colour Trip" was a revelation. A bomb made with boundless pedalboards where all effects are carefully calibrated and ON. "Colour Trip" is the most classic shoegaze that in 2011 manages to sound new. The Ringo Deathstarr are perfect. As a verse from a song goes, "beautiful like a gun." Now excuse me, but I have to press PLAY again!