Simple guitar riffs and dreamy vocals unite for an alternative, shoegaze flavour with clear emotion at its core – Muse Material keep things intimate and honest throughout a series of originals, beginning with the beautifully hypnotic Dreaming.
Leading with a refreshingly authentic sound, reverb-kissed but up-front and genuine in the same instance, Muse Material make fine use of strong melodies and softly passionate deliveries to connect on a deeply human level.
Dreaming brightens up in a manner that feels like pop-rock, but the ambiance maintains an alternative edge – creating the perfect kind of daytime festival vibe or a moment of purity to escape into as the mind wanders.
Mixing things up a little, Paying It Back leads with simplicity again but in the form of piano and drums, with flickers of organic detail. Increasingly Muse Material showcase an artistically free, expressive way with sound design – whatever the topic or mood, whatever the moment requires, that’s what it gets.
Here the vocals have a little more clarity, feeling closer within the mix, and the intricacies of the voice shine gorgeously in that setting. Vulnerability connects again as the song slowly gathers momentum in its search for oneness and strength. Perhaps a highlight from the collection, faultlessly captured like a live performance but with the ambient closeness of addictive acoustic emo-pop.
Philadelphia brings in a familiar vibe once more, that classic pace, but utilises a wash of synths and a warm bass-line to present a fresh and again dreamy direction as a minimalist instrumental.
Elsewhere in the catalogue there are hits of distorted weight and anthem-like energy to contrast the delicacy of earlier, all in all though you can never quite predict where Muse Material will take things.
Disgraced In America is perhaps a bold final example of that quality, intense in its build-up and emotive in its soulful piano-lead throughout a stop-start arrangement of clear purpose and depth. The title provokes thought, and the mood of the progression furthers that – the mind wanders entirely, each journey likely unique to each listener; a powerful trait that only music of intention can truly promise. Well worth a listen.
Look out for the brand new single Fall in the coming weeks. Check out more music via Soundcloud.
