Should
Feed Like Fishes

THE REVIEW

When talking about American Shoegaze, one must always reckon with the intrinsic roots of Transatlantic musicians. People like Medicine, Loveliescrushing (almost entirely), the early Lilys (rightly placed in the Shoegaze category), have little or nothing in common with people like Swirlies, (certain things from) Drop Nineteens, Eric's Trip, etc. All thrown together in the "American Shoegaze" pot. The former were more influenced by the liquid sounds emerging from England, while the latter maintained a jagged and typically American Noise approach. One thing they had in common was My Bloody Valentine, always teetering between the United Kingdom and the States, symbolically in the middle of the Ocean, between the waves and the sky, the sun and the moon.

Lagging behind the times, although formed in the early 90s under the name Shift, the Should changed their name and carved out a small space in that Shoegaze world (the latter of the two aforementioned). In Feed Like Fishes, you can hear: lo-fi lullabies, submerged by a sea of noise that delights the ears and doesn't embitter them; a slow pace reminiscent of Galaxie 500. Old and new blend like listeners from a Remote Future listening to the Near Future.

A small forgotten gem from 1998, making a strong comeback thanks also to the reissues of their album made under the name Shift and the reunion that brought forth two new albums.