Laboratory Noise - Here, She Is Evergreen

When Sound Generates Light is the debut long player from Laboratory Noise. Originally released in December 2010 through Recurring Accident, the album is an ambitious melting pot of shoegaze, indie rock and celestial psychedelia.

Based in Bradford, UK, the band are seven-strong in number and weave a patchwork of hazy guitars, synth and drone over the convergent vocals of Paul McNulty and Kerry Ramsay.

At 1:41, album-opener Mae is little more than an introduction but sets the tone of the record with a glare of distortion to pre-empt first-track-proper, She Dies Screaming - a powerhouse indie stomper fuelled on rumbling bass and resonating guitar hooks. It's an imposing start and provides our first clues about the core achievement of this record... That being the ability to exploit and experiment with drone, but never to the detriment of structure or songwriting.

From the reflective tremolo of Tessa to the white-noise backdrop of When Everything Burns Down, there are some remarkable moments. This is artisan indie rock; highly charged, lovingly crafted and occasionally exquisite.

There are obvious references too. Album closer I Can Only Give You Everything conjures an echo of Slowdive-past. A duelling vocal-line induces hailstorms of guitar to produce a breathtaking finale, as stylish as it is confident.

Our featured track is album centrepiece, Here, She Is Evergreen. A totemic slice of nu-gaze, Evergreen is blown in from the breeze of 15-minute predecessor, Dream Sequence (a glorious nocturnal chant consumed by a rush of ambient sound loops). Put simply, it's majestic. This is bona fide arms-in-the-air stuff. Glittering guitars, an enduring vocal line and the lush underpin of synth combine to produce Laboratory Noise's flagship moment and the deserving lead-track of their debut EP, Hope is a Waking Dream.



To discover more about Laboratory Noise, visit their official website or stream tracks via MySpace and Soundcloud..