Through the haze of fuzz and reverb lies a beautiful cacophony of melody.
Do you need something heavy, floaty and ethereal in your musical life? If so, allow us to introduce Virgins.
A Belfast-based shoegaze band who transcend that reductive tag to deliver a noise which is thrillingly loud and weightily light. A band band with Michael Smyth at the hazy centre, joined by vocalist Rebecca Dow and completed by David Sloan on rhythm guitar, Brendy McCann on bass and James Foy on drums.
Virgins were born with a lust to satiate a musical thirst. A chance encounter with a Slow Crush record ushered Michael on the ethereal cloudy path of shoegaze. With a board of fuzz and reverb pedals he set out to create the glorious noise in his head.
This lead to them working with Jonny Woods (Wynona Bleach) and releasing debut single Vows (with original vocalist Brook-Valentine Lorimer ) in August 2021 to an unprecedented response. It premiered on White Light White Heat, drawing comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream era and “Cocteau Twins with extra guitar and drums - exquisite.”
The track was picked up by Golden Plec, Chordblossom, played on Q Radio and ATL. Shoegaze Blog broke their rule of not covering singles for Vow's “deafening dream pop’.
Initially conceived as a band with a revolving door policy which would have Michael record the material and have it brought to life by a live band, this changed once the current line up became a thrilling reality. Now a fully formed band, Virgins are fresh new talent that offer something no one else in Ireland is doing.
Production of their debut track EP is complete and will be released digitally and on Blowtorch vinyl in the Autumn. For those who can't wait that long, the original version of Vows is available on our second compilation vinyl album.
Get on board this gazey trip - it's going to be some ride.
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