The December Sound - The Silver Album

Sounding like a cross between The Verve, Honey’s Dead era Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream circa Xtrmntr, Boston’s The December Sound give the current shoegaze scene a much needed kick in the balls on their stunning debut full-length. With way too many contemporary bands in the genre aping the slow, ‘dreamy’ (and far too wussy for this scribe’s tastes) vibes of Slowdive and The Cocteau Twins, it’s hard to forget that many of the legends back in the day like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel, JAMC, and early Ride were known for their lethal combinations of noise and melody. Fronted by Zack Sarzana, The December Sound take no prisoners on the pulverizing Stooges-like gems “No Heaven Like Hell” and “Maker,” which smack you head on like prime time Mike Tyson punches to the throat. Equally great is the slow burning “Painkiller,” a heady combination of big beats, fuzzy guitars and soothing vocals. At other times, the band takes on a more hypnotic space rock vibe on “Drone Refusenik” and, especially, “Kill Me (Before I Kill You),” a six-minute plus space rock masterpiece that holds it’s own with similarly inclined epics like Primal Scream’s “Higher Than The Sun” and The Verve’s “A Man Called Sun” (perhaps it’s no coincidence that The December Sound reference the Sun in their lyrics too!).