Serena Maneesh – Abyss in B Minor

Serena Maneesh – Abyss in B Minor
V2/4AD – 2010
Rock/Shoegaze/Krautrock/New Wave
Waardering: ****

Upon return from Oslo I can now say for certain that it is in fact heaven on earth. Not only because of the fact that the first rays of the summer sun made the Oslo women discard most layer of clothing. Mostly because it is the musical Mecca; due to the fact it has an incredible amount of stages; music cafes, underground bars, hundreds of festival, authentic record stores and sinister drinking halls for the raw sailors, whores and lost souls. To prove the fact we have Serena Maneesh’s second album Abyss in B Minor. Recorded in a cave outside Oslo the album sports a truckload of guest musicians, friend Sufjan Stevens and producers Nick Terry (Primal Scream) and René Tinner (Can) and sounds like a hypnotic ode to the shoegaze. Thousand and one layers, distorted by noise and hard distinguishable hooks and riffs; could lead to an almost unlistenable pulp. But this is not the case with Serena Maneesh; they make sure this form of music has… errr… Form… And in that respect they can easily hold a candle to My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless. The album has enough dark moments to propel feelings of unease and claustrophobia; ethereal lines of space and light and without losing complete sight of the pure pop-song. Breathtakingly beautiful and mysterious!

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