Stream: Launder, ‘Unwound’ and ‘Chipper’

on
0
Launder (Photo by Cameron McCool)

The secret sauce in the music known as shoegaze is its ability to convey a spectrum of emotions using texture and volume. After an EP in 2018 and a couple of 7-inches since, John Cudlip and his collaborators in Launder seem to have found it.

As someone wrote in olden times: Such pretty noise.

Last week, Cudlip announced that the debut Launder album “Happening” would be out on July 15 via Ghostly. At 13 tracks, it’s a double-LP that promises to be a true long-player, judging from the first two singles, “Unwound” and “Chipper.” Both were co-written with DIIV’s Zachary Cole and Colin Caulfield.

Less lo-fi than Launder’s EP, neither track sacrifices anything for melody. The lead song on the album, “Unwound,” counters dark lyrics against an expansive soundscape. At just over 2 minutes, “Chipper” is a sanguine pop song riding waves of guitar.

The album, which features SoKo on the song “Become” (they’ve collaborated before), was made at Elliott Smith’s old room, New Monkey Studio in Van Nuys, with Cudlip backed by guitarist Nathan Hawelu, bassist Chase Meier, drummer Bryan DeLeon and co-producer Sonny DiPerri (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, DIIV), who also engineered and mixed.

“I feel like I’ve evolved into a much more self-reliant writer compared to the EP and 7-inch releases, but I couldn’t have made this record without the band,” Cudlip says. “The songs came to life in the rehearsal space with them, it was like a light switch went on.”

||| Stream: “Unwound” and “Chipper”

||| Previously: “Keep You Close,” “Powder,” “Fade”