“We welcome Blackout Transmission onto our radar. . . one of the finest bands to come out of Los Angeles, California recently; a quartet that rocks between alternative rock and shoegaze.
One of the most spectacular debut albums of this year and other recent years. They sound like a light in the dark; a hope in the face of adversity. They sound like so many things that stir the fibers and take sighs. And we rub our hands over what may be the beginning of a promising career.”
Quite a bit of UK shoegaze influence comes through only a few minutes into Sparse Illumination, recalling different periods of classic bands like Ride, Swervedriver, and Catherine Wheel. But where some of the well-known albums from those artists still had more of a driving tempo, Blackout Transmission chooses to instead embrace a more laid-back and hypnotic approach to their songwriting which brings in just as much inspiration from psychedelic rock. But where this band starts to deviate is in the darker textures they bring to the table, as rather than maintaining the consistently brighter tonality songs like “Heavy Circles” and “Pacifica” head in darker and noisier directions by the end, bringing some of the grittiness of their home city into the music. It’s the type of album that you can put on, close your eyes, and totally lose yourself in as the textures wash over you and, in that regard, Sparse Illumination remains consistent from beginning to end.
Read MoreTreble Zine says that the single is “a fuzzy, hard-driving rock ‘n’ roll track at heart, but it’s wrapped up in a dense, swirling array of effects, offering an otherworldly, cosmic, psychedelic illusion” with “vocalist Christopher Goett showcasing a voice that’s uncannily similar to Echo & the Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch”.
Buzzbands LA details that “the first single “Portals,” with its shimmering grandiosity, actually recalls the dark, first-album music of the Verve.”
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