Press

“This is gigantic, impassioned shoegaze music, ear-deafeningly loud and sonically breath taking in places. Thankfully, they understand the power of dynamics. For every blistering guitar coda, there are four to five minutes of proceeding – and there really is no alternative but to use that most overused of adjectives here – ‘ethereal’ bliss. Hints of Spiritualized’s lysergic gospel skewer the likes of ‘Wildflowers’ and ‘Tiny Ship’. This lends the record a delicious tension throughout.” — the 405

Drowner is an album spanning vast sonic spectrums. From the lazy calm of Never Gonna Go Away to the euphoric Here (featured below), you sense it’s a genuine labour of love… so it comes as little surprise that Emmanuel took three years between the recording of early demos to the recruitment of final members, Sean Evans (guitar) and Mike Brewer (bass).

But it’s a patient approach that paid off. Indeed, as the first bars of album-opener, Point Dume, ring in, it’s clear we’re looking at something a little bit special… It’s an immediate rush; a hit of neo-Cocteau’s bliss-pop and a soaring statement of intent; buffered only by the emergence of edgier tracks, such as the near-gothic Chime.

Immaculately produced and intelligently written, this is an album of genuine craft – and never more so than when consumed by the FX-laden ambience of Emmanuel’s patchwork guitars. The lucid dreamtime of Tiny Ship explodes into a dizzying pedal-charged roar, and the glorious This threatens to literally burst with joy. — Nugazer: The shoegaze blog

” Drowner is a brighter, more pop-minded noise-jangle unit more in the vein of a later, Honey’s Dead-era Jesus and Mary Chain…

…While so many bands have been kicking up the fuzz, stomping on their looping pedals, and jumping aboard the shoegaze/dream pop revival, Drowner has shown enough flash in its debut to stand out from the pack.” — Consequence of Sound

“The new single from Drowner is a slow burn in the truest sense of the term. Clocking in just under eight minutes, “Never Go Away” is a meticulously crafted and perfectly paced track, a great accomplishment in today’s mostly bustling world. As piano keys build atop cymbal crashes, vocal echoes roar, and xylophones sparkle in the distance, “Never Go Away” all comes crashing together in a beautiful mix of screeching guitar and faint harmony. Drowner’s self-titled album is out March 13th on Saint Marie Records.” — Beats Per Minute

“Den texanske duo Drowner bugserer på deres debut-ep lytteren med ud på dybt vand, til et sted, hvor horisonten udviskes og himmel og hav står i et – i en mørk Bermuda-trekant mellem dynamisk, svulmende postrock, støjende shoegazer og dag drømmer døsig dreampop…’Wildflowers’ og ‘Never Go Away’ flyder således nærmest helt ud i et brusende støjocean. De små, glitrende blink af marimba og xylofon i guitarorkanens øje på sidstnævnte nummer fuldender et billede af at være på dykketur i et mørkt spøgelsesskib med flænsede sejl, der kastes hid og did af undersøiske strømme med tordenrummel i distancen, mens Darren Emanuel på ep’ens tre andre, mere fokuserede numre iscenesætter Bouchard som en temperamentsfuld amazone med lyn i øjnene – et fint kontrapunkt til hendes englerøst.” — Soundvenue (in Danish)

“Drowner “Never Go Away” The second I heard this song, I tweeted “nearly 8 minutes of 2 chords, fuzzy noise,strange harmonies,and it all seems to beautifully work”. Not much else needs to be said about this hauntingly gorgeous epic. Never has 2 chords sounded so emotionally true and raw. Simply incredible” – Popbang Radio

“Modern day dreampop warriors.” — Shoegaze – a journey through gaze

“Drowning in reverb and beauty. For Fans of: Slowdive, Ringo Deathstarr…” — The 405

“Alla band americana li lega la voce femminile ed i chiari omaggi ai Jesus & Mary Chains, poi però l’esplorazione sonora della band di Austin si sponge verso il post rock e le atmosfere eteree e rarefatte dei Sigur Ros e dei Mogwai (citati dalla band stessa come dei riferimenti) invece di affondare nei consueti muri sonori che finiscono per essere là il centro del disco. Qui invece c’è ancora la canzone e la melodia dietro tutto, al punto che pezzi come Point Dume o Wildflowers potrebbero diventare dei brani simbolo dell’anno e del successo di questa band. Successo che noi vogliamo augurargli perchè se è vero che anche i Drowner non inventano nulla, è anche vero che ad uno shoegaze a questo livello i Pains Of Being Pure At Heart non ci arriveranno forse mai. Il primo disco da 10 pieno dell’anno.” — Troublezine (in Italian)

“…craft is in evidence everywhere on this lengthy EP (there are albums of the same duration, as originally released on vinyl). This is a tweaker’s masterclass, with every tone honed to perfection, and every element of the sound exactly positioned to create a consistent atmosphere from a disparate palette of materials. These are melodic songs, with creative arrangements, all of which is heard from a distance, as though the listener were outside the building in which they were being performed. For the ear to cross that distance, however, is a journey that rewards at every step: Drowner are restless in their search for new sounds, and the journey is one of constant timbral transformation.” — Oliver Arditi

“…yes, there is a vague hint of the Cocteaus in the track below the words – but there’s also a poppy, driven element amid the dense layers of vocal overdub, not to mention a sweeping, otherworldly guitar stance. ‘Here’ is this band’s second single; I’m very much looking forward to listening to some more.” — Lazer Guided Melody

“…fab dreamscape outfit DROWNER (think high violets meets cocteau twins and share multiple belts of absinthe) lands on higher ground by inking deal w/ indie label darlings, SAINT MARIE RECORDS…” — mutt R.

“Drowner, a duo based in Houston, Texas, put out an amazingly beautiful 5-track self titled EP in June of 2011 and soon they will release a new single and b-side. As soon as I started listening to any of these songs, I instantly fell in love with them: Anna Bouchard “That Angelic Voice” and Darren Emanuel “Shoegaze Sonic Heaven Guitar.” [...] Every song I have heard from them so far has been very well crafted and with gorgeous lyrics. You will find yourself addicted and humming them, even when you don’t know you are.” — when the sun hits.

“Nos primeiros acordes de Point Dume, faixa de abertura do Ep homonimo dos americanos do Drowner meus sentimentos retornam a duas obras belissimas, Heaven or Las Vegas e Gala, respectivamente de dois patrimonios dos bons sons Cocteau Twins e Lush, a palavra etereo nunca esteve tao bem ilustrada atualmente como nesta maravilha de canção, Never Go Away começa e os sonhos caminham lado a lado com a realidade, ouvir isso depois de pegar um transito infernal cai como um calmante para a alma. Anna Bouchard, vocais, Darren Emanuel, guitarras, Sean Evans, guitarras e Mike Brewer, baixo, nos conduzem a um imaginario mundo de sonhos cintilantes e etereos com direito a passeios fascinantes recheados de delays espaciais, susteianers aconchegantes e pedacinhos do paraiso acabam por fazer parte de nossas vidas pelo menos durante os quase 30 minutos de sedução plena que o ep homonimo nos oferta.” — The Blog That Celebrates Itself (in Portuguese and English)

“…Drowner is noisy, dense, and dreamy. Singer Anna Bouchard, with her chiffon smooth vocals sounds like Elizabeth Frazer or Beth Thompson (of Medicine), depending upon the tone of the music. On the mellower end of the spectrum are songs like “Point Dume” and “This,” with a more ethereal quality, resembling a mix of Pale Saints and Cocteau Twins. On the more thickset side are the clattery “Chime,” “Written,” and “Here,” with beefy walls of guitars and phantasmagoric noises. Although the band has a sound that will surely please any shoegazer aficionado, the real deal, however, are the superbly arranged songs themselves.

Alongwith the healthy bombardment of guitar drone, Drowner indulges in many a moment of silence, which make for some of the most rewarding parts of the album. The record’s longest numbers, the five and half minute long “Tiny Ship,” the six-and-half minute long “Wildflowers,” and the almost eight minute long “Never Go Away,” comprise of the psychedelic half of the album, which start with meditative serenity, and explode somewhere in the middle of the song like a cosmic bang of wild guitar textures.” — The Daily Vault

“Cocteau Twins 2.0 dachte ich so bei mir, als ich das Video zur ersten Single «Point Dume» hörte – alles wunderbar verhallt und verhuscht und leicht bedrohlich. Keine Musik für ausgelassene Partystimmung, eher für verregnete Herbstabende.” — Coast is Clear (in German)

“…The album, but particularly the first four tracks, sounds like a song arc – first, a feeling of being swept into a maelstrom: powerful, ominous, swirling indie rock clashing with an echo chamber of shoegazing female vocals. Then the tracks flow into an afterlife of tension, release, introspection, and grace…

…The guitar chords are expansive, often minor key, and the rhythm is steady but understated like a fading pulse. But it’s the fuzzy, dreamy vocals that take the oceanic music and make it otherworldly. It’s like bathing in an eternity of cosmic radiation.” – ReadJunk

“…Layers are again the key to Drowner’s formula, with constant swirling guitars, whether playing the main riff or just filling in the back with soaring feedbacking notes that all fade in and out of each other flawlessly. Anna Bouchard’s vocals are reminiscent of 27‘s phenomenal Maria Christopher which adds an ambient beauty to the mood set by the guitars other haunting electronic elements.

Drowner prove to be a band fully capable of writing outstanding tracks that cover the spectrum of the shoegaze genre. From slow, heartfelt dreamscapes, to songs that have a rock forefront but are layered and effected so much, that depending on what your focusing on the song takes on a whole new persona by the time it reaches its end. With the creativity shown here, they should have no problem following up with a full length album that is bound to take the group to higher levels. I personally look forward to that.” — MusicUnderFire

“Ich mag das gerne, wenn Shoegaze so richtig shoegazig ist – und Drowner sind verdammt shoegazig! Dank verschiedener Aufnahmetechniken wurde Anna Bouchards betörende Stimme bis zu 40 Mal übereinander gelegt, kombiniert mit einem berauschenden, spacig-abgedrehten Wall of Sound, den wir Darren Emanuel an der Gitarre verdanken.” — Shoegazr.de (in German)

“Strong enough to work with almost any arrangement they’re otherworldly, simple in places yet still inventive. Factor in the fact that Bouchard’s layered vocals are backed with reverb-drenched washes of shimmering guitars courtesy of Emanuel and second guitarist Sean Evans, and the result is something even more exciting and intoxicating. Take for example “Never Go away”. Just shy of eight minutes long, yet only two chords, with a simple melody and honest, heartfelt lyrics. It’s atmospheric sense of wonder pushed in all the right places by the band’s rhythm section (Emanuel again on drums, Mike Brewer on bass).

My personal favourite track though is “Here”, its slow start of vocals and guitar building before the driving stop/start rhythm kicks in. Stunning and beautiful. The band’s use of echo, delay, and all manner of analogue effects bring to mind such sonic pioneers as Robin Guthrie, Kevin Shields, Slowdive, Mercury Rev and Talk Talk.” — Audioscribbler

“Melancholic, beautiful Cocteau Twins inspired classic shoegaze. Fantastic vocals and choruses. “When I see your face….” — Soundtrack2