Procedure Club – Doomed Forever

Of the many grotesque terms that have managed to take off, ‘nu-gaze’ is thankfully not one of them. But the truth is that shoegaze has seen a real resurgence in the past few years, culminating in (and, indeed, encouraged by) My Bloody Valentine’s reformation, and that has inevitably seen mutations on the genre. The Procedure Club from the cold depths of New England are a duo that seem to embody this new wave of musical introspection.

Following on from a stellar release on free download label BEKO DSL and a 7” on Sixteen Tambourines, Doomed Forever is their first longplayer. Whilst Slumberland may have lost much of its cache, it still has an ear for new and exciting music as the many release The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have put out on the imprint has shown. In turns, these 11 tracks show the two different sides of the label, with songs ranging from the genuinely brilliant to altogether dull. Album opener ‘Feel Sorry for Me’ is suitably light and breezy, showcasing jangly guitars and distorted, naval gazing vocals without ever getting bogged down. Elsewhere, there are glimmers of lo-fi pop, with ‘Slut Fossil’ sounding like something Vivian Girls might’ve knocked together with it’s childish, carefree melody backed with brilliantly lazy guitarwork.

That the band manage to create somewhat of a trademark sound in such a crowded marketplace is something to be lauded, but in it lay the seed of their downfall. Whilst the distant drone of Adam Malec’s guitar might’ve earned them early renowned, especially when coupled with Andrea’s maraudering, melodic vocals, but it’s combination that proves impossible to break out of. It’s clear that there are some attempts at variation throughout Doomed Forever, but the very formula that made them so arresting on those early releases is so overpowering that most of the songs end up sounding vaguely similar, no matter how obvious the differences are within each. The screeching apocalyptic intro of ‘Nautical Song’ is one noted change, but even that manages to seep back into the hazy vocals/fuzzy guitar shoegaze recipe present throughout the rest of the record.

A band’s debut should be, in one way or another, a celebration, and Doomed Forever certainly shows hints of that without ever truly delivering. The band are obviously imbued with talent – ‘Rather’, a deft pastiche of throwaway 60’s pop, is more than most acts could muster – but for some reason they don’t seem to want to fully embrace it. This is a long 31 minutes, but there are enough lessons to be learnt from them for The Procedure Club to build upon it. Final track ‘Seventh Circle of Hell’ is a pleasant way to end a record oozing with potential without fully delivering – a line probably suitable for Slumberland on the whole at the minute.