New Jersey-based trio Prettier Now craft a moody rock mystique across their new album, Perfect Crush. Dreamy textural engrossment and bursting charisma alike enamor throughout, especially exemplary on standout tracks “Plums” and “On the Grass (nearby).” The former guides gently from eerie guitar twangs and reflective bass pulses into a ghostly vocal presence. Jangling guitars intensify alongside nocturnal synths as the vocals swelter with further passion, approaching the second minute; the momentum is palpable.
Rather than the more contemplative build of “Plums,” “On the Grass (nearby)” launches straight away into blistering guitar distortion and a sludgy, slowcore-friendly feeling. A lush vocal submergence takes hold thereafter, immersing alongside pit-pattering percussion and understated guitars — and then cohesively into the re-emergence of warming, gauzy guitar distortion. The band’s strong songwriting and knack for atmospheric rock evolutions compel consistently throughout Perfect Crush, a standout debut that’s streaming in full below:
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These two tracks and others featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
