Pinkshinyultrablast, Russia's finest export, release their third album 'Miserable Miracles'.

With vocalist Lyubov recently moving to LA, the band have been exploring new ways of composing and collaborating. Partnered with a line-up refinement, the new material sees Pinkshinyultrablast go down a more electronic path while experimenting with new sounds and genres (including inspiration from Japanese pop such as Chiemi Manabe and Yellow Magic Orchestra).

Originally hailing from a city more synonymous with the State Conservatory than a gang of shoegaze addicts, the band have nevertheless seen great critical and commercial success since their debut album 'Everything Else Matters' and follow-up 'Grandfeathered'. They've been compared to bands such as Lush but this is no mere throwback tribute - due to their sharp, icy electronics and ability to subvert the genre, bringing something new to the table. They possess not only the spirit of late 80s/early 90s British bands like Cocteau Twins, but also machine-made sounds of the same era from Sabres Of Paradise or Global Communication, not to mention wider vibrations like Cluster, Popul Vuh, Terry Riley and Philip Glass.

On 'Miserable Miracles' Lyubov's delicate vocals soar effortlessly above haunting ambience and ethereal embellishments complimented by driving motoric beats. Singles 'In The Hanging Gardens' and 'Find Your Saint' perfectly showcase the band's new, more electronic direction while retaining their signature quirkiness with layers of experimentation. Elsewhere on the likes of 'Dance AM' and 'Triangles' retrocentric 80's production highlights newer synth-pop influences whereas tracks such as 'Blue Hour' and 'Earth and Elsewhere' are blissful synth-wave soundtracks which give the otherwise upbeat album space to breathe. Together the third album from the innovative trio is one that flows effortlessly as a continuous piece of work and reveals that even within a genre so widely explored, there's still room for modernization amongst those willing to push boundaries.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Bordering on euphoric, Pinkshinyultrablast continue their domination of the saccharine-sweet Russian synthpop scene (a busy scene indeed) with this beautiful collection of retro heavy throbbing saw waves and angelic vocal sweeps.

TRACK LISTING

Dance Am
Triangles
Find Your Saint
Eray
Blue Hour
Earth And Elsewhere
Taleidoscope
In The Hanging Gardens
Looming

Pinkshinyultrablast are a five-piece band from Saint-Petersburg in Russia, whose debut album, 'Everything Else Matters', released at the beginning of 2015 was met with huge critical acclaim. Headline shows across Europe, an energetic and committed fanbase, continued support at radio - all combined to make this upcoming second record one of the most anticipated in 2016. Around the first album the band were quoted as saying "we realised the local indie scene was totally boring and wanted to play something radically different". The vision of achieving notoriety outside of Russia has been integral to the band's philosophy - they are very much an international band now.

A Russian band making a shoegaze record, was seen by some, as something of a novelty. The novelty was quickly eroded, firstly by shoegaze fans who awarded the band an invaluable seal of approval, but also by the music press, who quickly realised that they were not just 'any' shoegaze band. This was a band with widespread appeal, an engaging front-woman and a thrilling live show.

They've been compared to Lush among others. But this is no mere throwback tribute. Grandfeathered is a more experimental listen compared with the debut album, it's the sound of a band unafraid to try new things and embrace those fine lines between visceral noise and restrained subtlety. The band saying of the new sound "The new album has been recorded and mixed much faster than the previous one. The songs have more density to them and are generally more complex."

The band take their name from an Astrobrite album, an act who were, according to the band, instrumental in how they "researched spaces between ambient, heavy guitar and pop music"

TRACK LISTING

1. Initial
2. Glow Vastly
3. I Catch You Napping
4. Kiddy Pool Dreams
5. Comet Marbles
6. The Cherry Pit
7. Mölkky
8. Grandfeathered