Damon & Naomi – More Sad Hits

As the forefathers of the eventually shoegazer and slowcore nation that arose in the 1990’s, Galaxie 500 released three perfect albums of beautiful, atmospheric pop songs that turned down the avalanches of feedback and distortion used by My Bloody Valentine, yet still had as much emphasis on textual effects and dreamy melody. When the vocalist/guitarist Dean Wareham left the trio to form Luna, the two remaining members, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang banded together and continued on with some coaxing by ubiquitous indie musician/producer Mark Kramer. Originally released in 1992, Damon & Naomi’s debut More Sad Hits now gets remastered and repacked masterfully with linear notes written by the pair themselves, as they take a walk back into their past memories. Ghostly pretty, there are hints of the Cocteau Twins haunting ethereal, yet with less gloom, all softed by Naomi’s gentle voice. While not as glorious and balanced as Galaxie 500’s output, this is a great soundtrack to your next rainy day, giving your Mazzy Star albums a deserved break.