Manilla Crescent

To me, there's always been something I can't quite place that makes British moody music different than the American counterpart. These are all guesses and assumptions, but I feel like British shoegaze and folksier stuff is tenser, more nervous and under spoken. That's not to say that Americans don't do it, too, but whenever I hear a British band play shoegaze, atmospheric, sad stuff ... I imagine the singer trying to look up from his shoes, trying to stop the warble. We just keep staring at the ground ...

Does that make any sense?
Manilla Crescent is one such U.K. group. Everything off their debut LP, Social Engineering, sounds as though it was recorded in a cold, dank room, a storm brewing up outside. The frail vocals matched with the Pixies-esque alternative rock-y sort of guitar work and grung-y framework ... make for really compelling songs that you can't help but feel are truly from the heart; terribly sincere ...

Check out some of the tracks below!

Manilla Crescent - By Yourself
Manilla Crescent - Gone
Manilla Crescent - Not Really Here