Track listing
- 1 I'm Gone 4:44
- 2 While You're Sleeping, I'm Dreaming 4:25
- 3 Heavenly Bodies 4:24
- 4 No Exits 4:09
- 5 Prizma 4:47
- 6 The Garden 4:19
- 7 Transcendent Blue 4:36
- 8 Afterlight 3:53
- 9 Violet's in a Pool 5:26
- Total length: 40:43
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
3 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
-
Tender New Signs [p]
-
Tender New Signs 33 rpm, Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition, Numbered Edition
-
Tender New Signs 33 rpm
10 Reviews
While I liked The Waves, I'm feelin' this sophomore release more, as the added elements concerning the guitar playing make the difference. Check out that guitar during "While You're Sleeping, I'm Dreaming". Such a nice melodic riff that would still sound cool even without the mega-reverb. Top-notch dream-pop, with that shoegaze angle adding the fuzz but not to abrasive levels. "Prizma" is like that as well, overlaying the guitar-wash with cool licks. Almost traces of that gothic touch seeping in at times in a Cranes sort of way (Loved era).
One of the bigger surprises is "The Garden", which features heightened vocals, enough for the lyrics to be discernable. It's catchy enough to be noise pop, and the texture is vibrant though still hazy.
Tender New Signs is a really good dream-gaze mixed cocktail. Rich and not completely reliant on the effects. Tamaryn's vocals don't rock the boat, residing perfectly in the angelic zone, mingling into the swirling, chiming guitars and thick, beefy bass. Some reverbed tom-work on certain songs and a complete lack of drums on others add to the variety, not settling for simple robotic, echo-enhanced beats throughout.
With a running time that makes sense and a snazzy take on a well-worn genre, this one's a keeper.
One of the bigger surprises is "The Garden", which features heightened vocals, enough for the lyrics to be discernable. It's catchy enough to be noise pop, and the texture is vibrant though still hazy.
Tender New Signs is a really good dream-gaze mixed cocktail. Rich and not completely reliant on the effects. Tamaryn's vocals don't rock the boat, residing perfectly in the angelic zone, mingling into the swirling, chiming guitars and thick, beefy bass. Some reverbed tom-work on certain songs and a complete lack of drums on others add to the variety, not settling for simple robotic, echo-enhanced beats throughout.
With a running time that makes sense and a snazzy take on a well-worn genre, this one's a keeper.
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
Tamaryn's second album, Tender New Signs, shows them to be another in a long line of bands returning to the shoegaze well to get their liquid sound. Fortunately for us, Tamaryn are actually pretty good at it. They employ the dreamy gauze of Slowdive with tiny dashes of that My Bloody Valentine tremolo. What distinguishes Tamaryn from some many copycat bands is that guitarist and producer Rex John Shelverton's playing seems directly inspired by The Smiths' Johnny Marr. His arpeggiated passages present Tender New Signs with a guitar aesthetic not usually found on records of this ilk. The record is uniformly solid, and, thankfully, lead singer Tamaryn Brown's swoony vocals rarely delve into the more somnolent realms of this type of music. If I have one complaint about the record, it is that it can tend to be same-songy in places. Nevertheless, if you are, like me, a sucker for shoegaze or you really dug DIIV's Oshin, Tender New Signs is definitely worth several spins.
Published
MEX125 Vinyl LP (2012)
"The Garden" makes my heart smile.
Published
I was about to say Tamaryn sounds very much "from the 90s". Then it struck me, that would not be a very fair thing to say.
"I'm Gone" is so good. "No Exits" is another favorite.
Interesting if you are into shoegaze. If not. Don't bother.
"I'm Gone" is so good. "No Exits" is another favorite.
Interesting if you are into shoegaze. If not. Don't bother.
Published
Tender New Signs exemplifies that lush, dreamy shoegaze sound—blah, blah, you've heard it all before. I don't mean to sound so dismissive, because it's a really great record, and even better than their debut. Fans of this type of thing shouldn't miss it. The guitar swirls around like The Verve at their best in the early 90s. The songs are melodic and focused without losing sight of that floating, interstellar aspect. And what really makes it is Tamaryn's vocals, especially on "I'm Gone". Nice to drop out to...
Published
Its no secret in the music business that the first track of any album is akin to the first line to any great novel, from Dickens "it was the best of times it was the worst of times" in the tales of two cities, to "call me Ishmael" in Moby Dick. The first sentence of any novel is held in great judgement of litterates out there, though as it may sometimes seem unjust in the context of ratio according to the amount of words contained foremost to the rest of the novel, either way it relates to the moment where one pushes play on a fresh new album. Attention needs to be captured, it needs to compel for its first seconds ultimately sets the tone to the rest of the album. Tender new signs strikes the ears with a simple chord shrouded in thick reverb that almost demands the listener to stay put and listen. As the opener continues the sweet sadness vocals of Tamaryn comforts, shelters and pulls you further into a trance of despair alike Mazzy Star's tortured yet absent minded vocals. And following its genre of "shoegaze" the vocals serves as catalyst to instill melody to what already is a blurred "wall of sound", a sonic disperse of colours that needs converging, which the barely understandable vocals does.
Tender New Signs brilliantly encapsulates mixtures blurred melodies like faint memories of what was good, then dumps what is bad to the present leaving one to speculate what it is like to stop and not think what will come. It drags one into its coil of beauty for its duration, for which I'm not sure whether you wish to leave as sadness and beauty flows as one. For only one response seems fit, that of "repeat".
Tender New Signs brilliantly encapsulates mixtures blurred melodies like faint memories of what was good, then dumps what is bad to the present leaving one to speculate what it is like to stop and not think what will come. It drags one into its coil of beauty for its duration, for which I'm not sure whether you wish to leave as sadness and beauty flows as one. For only one response seems fit, that of "repeat".
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
I found their debut album totally mesmerizing. I have fond memories of being high with that album as my soundtrack. So when news of their second album came, I was already anticipating it automatically. They don't change a lot of the formula with _Tender New Signs_. But the songs are still shimmering shoegaze all the way through. Sultry, caramelized female vocals is the key to Tamaryn's music and it's not lacking here. They're actually more prominent than ever. The massive wash of guitars is actually less overwhelming now as if the beautiful noise has stepped aside or lessened the volume to accommodate the sensuality in the singer's voice. What we have here is thunderous hush.
Published
THE CASE FOR THE DEFENCE: Before we go any further...yes...it sounds exactly like MBV circa 1991. Nobody is disputing that but I ask you your honour what crime has been committed? If making a damn good pop record filled with haunting melodies is a crime then lets face it, the law is an ass!
JUDGE: Oh fair enough...you're right...Case dismissed!!!
HURRAH!!!
JUDGE: Oh fair enough...you're right...Case dismissed!!!
HURRAH!!!
Published
Votes are used to help determine the most interesting content on RYM.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Catalog
5 Oct 2023
4 Oct 2023
29 Sep 2023
28 Sep 2023
26 Sep 2023
23 Sep 2023
17 Sep 2023
14 Sep 2023
11 Sep 2023
-
1
I'm Gone
-
2
While You're Sleeping, I'm Dreaming
-
3
Heavenly Bodies
-
4
No Exits
-
5
Prizma
-
6
The Garden
-
7
Transcendent Blue
-
8
Afterlight
-
9
Violet's in a Pool
5 Sep 2023
-
1
I'm Gone
-
2
While You're Sleeping, I'm Dreaming
-
3
Heavenly Bodies
-
4
No Exits
-
5
Prizma
-
6
The Garden
-
7
Transcendent Blue
-
8
Afterlight
-
9
Violet's in a Pool
30 Aug 2023
21 Aug 2023
12 Aug 2023
10 Aug 2023
2 Aug 2023
Contributions
Log in to submit a correction or upload art for this release
- Be respectful! All the community rules apply here.
- Keep your comments focused on the release. Don't post randomness/off-topic comments. Jokes are fine, but don't post tactless/inappropriate ones.
- Don't get in arguments with people here, or start long discussions. Use the boards for extended discussion.
- Don't use this space to complain about the average rating, chart position, genre voting, others' reviews or ratings, or errors on the page.
- Don't comment just to troll/provoke. Likewise, don't respond to trollish comments; just report them and ignore them.
- Any spoilers should be placed in spoiler tags as such: [spoiler](spoiler goes here)[/spoiler]
Note: Unlike reviews, comments are considered temporary and may be deleted/purged without notice.