Gnoomes are vocalist/bassist Alex Pyankov, drummer Pavel Fedoseev and guitarist Dmitriy Konyushevich. They come from a place in Russia called Perm, which translates as ‘Faraway land’; the location of their recordings can easily be envisaged through their music – this album contains four tracks that make over 30 minutes of patient, dreamy ambient pop that ebbs and flows in and out of shoegaze.
The 16 minutes of ‘Roadhouse’ introduces the LP with gentle acoustic guitar that’s eventually joined by an electric guitar and a minimal electro beat. A cheeky bassline adds a mellow groove, and then Alex’s heavy reverb vocal glides in, reminding somewhat of Jose Gonzalez. Post-rock trio Fridge, consisting of Adem (who later produced…
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…some solo folk albums) and Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet, had a similar vibe and setup, but Gnoomes depend more heavily on guitars and a simple beat as opposed to jazzy drumming and synth experimentation.
The Rocket Recordings press release rightly tells of ‘dreamlike aural travelogues’, comparing them to Atlas Sound and Neu!, Syd Barrett, and also Animal Collective and My Bloody Valentine. If you feel that you are drifting too far into this Russian dreamscape, the thrashing guitars appear, to shake you by the shoulder.
During ‘Myriads’, Alex sings using only a few notes in a lullaby-fashion, with the melody imitated afterwards on guitar. The repetitive nature of this shorter tune, made it the least successful track. The exhilarating ‘Moognes’ follows, sounding very MBV with growling guitars and a heavier beat. It all breaks down towards the end in a lush, euphoric, pop finale, with those raw guitar sounds tamed by plenty of reverb.
Final track ‘My Son’ is a 14 minute journey that starts with a minimal bassline and spoken hushed lyrics. This reminds, dare I say it, of U2 circa 1987 – ‘Running To Stand Still’. This should certainly not be regarded as an insult, due to the stigma that’s attached to the bands music these days. The tempo gradually increases and a wash of feather-light guitar chords continue until the beat disappears, and a pleasant cacophony of synch noises swirls around our heads. A 4-4 beat eventually kicks in, conjuring up images from Transporting and the related sounds provided by Underworld… up until the bizarre inclusion of 3 ‘Eastenders’ drum beats, near the end.
1. Roadhouse (15:56)
2. Myriads (3:44)
3. Moognes (4:20)
4. My Son (14:06)