The 1980s. The decade that brought you Thatcherism. The poll tax. HIV and shoulder pads.
The decade of Gordon Gekko. Wall Street. Cocaine and crack.
A decade that reveled in all the glorious grossness the human experiment is capable of.
The yuppies replaced the hippies and Peace and love was out and in its place individualism, materialism and self interest became the goal.
As iniquality rose and trust in governmental institutions eroded, the self help and fitness culture was born.
The age of consumerism was here and tough luck if you couldn’t keep up.
40 years later and it would seem not much has changed.
So it seems fitting that as we all get churned through the grinder of what could easily be described as the 80s on steroids, that the musical landscape of now echoes with reminders of days gone by.
Because while the mainstream culture was leaning heavily into the flashy twats and excesses of hair metal or the smug twats and the capitalist ambitions of yacht rock and yuppie pop, the British music scene gave birth to its counterpoint:
The Shoegazing Movement.
A sub genre of British indie music that favored introspection, ambiguity, and emotional depth.
Dressed in jeans and t-shirts, it rejected the glamorous image and desire to sell sex and luxury of 80s pop and rock. Replacing it with a collective identity of detachment. The music, a swirling mix of dense, layered guitars, drowned in delay, reverb and chorus. The vocals buried in the mix to create an abstract, melancholic and immersive soundscape, born from cheap cider and cheaper resin.
Now here we are in 2025. No longer in a damp moldy flat in London. But with Vy pole. A four piece from Saint Petersburg and their new release Там где всё.
Seven and a half minutes of unashamed shoegazing majesty.
Там где всё opens with jangly guitars and drums that are simultaneously thundering and reserved. Eventually giving way, a minute in, to an angular guitar sound Graham Coxon would be proud of.
The song is a perfect mix of monastic, otherworldly vocals. Looping guitars and driving beats. Shimmering across a dark lake, like the ghosts of time have come calling. Halfway through it kicks up a gear into a swirling maelstrom of restrained guitar fuzz. Conjuring feelings of isolation and universal collected truths. It feels like you could get lost in the vast dark landscapes of the soul.
It’s anthemic and cinematic. It’s artistic shots of Icelandic fjords, storms and feelings of loss. And like its forbears, it’s melancholic, abstract and immersive.
It’s Sunday evening comedowns in a Bedsit on your own. It’s breakups. Missed opportunities. Heartbreak and hurt all made glorious. It makes all the pain of living worthwhile. For this one joyous moment of triumphant connection. A feeling of being lost and found at the same time.
At seven and a half minutes long, the song takes its time but never outstays its welcome. As it builds to its climax of post psychedelic guitars and distortion, it picks you up and envelopes you in warm understanding and then it’s over. Leaving you post euphoric and utterly alone.
It’s musical soundscaping designed to create an emotional response and it’s almost perfect.
Там где всё is out on May 7, 2025
Reviewed by Jimmy Murphy.
RATING: 5 OUT OF 5
RATING SYSTEM:
- 0: Fucking Shit
- 1: Shit
- 2: Not Bad Shit
- 3: Pretty Good Shit
- 4: Amazing Fucking Shit
- 5: The Best Shit You Will Ever Hear
