Blushing are a special band – a four-piece hailing from Austin that sounds more like early-90s England than whatever Texas is supposed to sound like. Back in 2019, Blushing put out their self-titled debut album to critical acclaim. It was a shoegaze record that relied on noisy climaxes, the songs building up to spectacular resolutions. Now, they have announced Possessions, their second album.

Despite their noisy credentials, melody is Blushing‘s main calling card. A few months, they released “Sour Punch”, a loud-but-sunny dream pop tune not unlike Alvvays‘s best accomplishments.

Now, they’re following up “Sour Punch” with a wildly different song titled “The Fires”. Moody and dark, the track is marked by heavy usage of guitar tremolo, establishing a firm link between Blushing and the original 90s shoegazers. In fact, the whole album has been mastered by Mark Gardener, co-leader of shoegaze trailblazers Ride.

Coloured only by an underlying guitar line growing under the verses, “The Fires” remains a sober affair for most of its running time. However, that soberness is a mere disguise. As with the best songs on their debut album, “The Fires” slowly builds up to a grand finale, closing things off with a thundering wall of electric guitar.

Blushing is an Austin-based dream-pop band comprised of two husband and wife teams. Earlier this year, we premiered the video of “The Truth“, an intense and aerial single that was also announcing the release of their debut album. The record has now arrived and the four-piece have also shared a brand new single to celebrate it. Recalling the original dream-pop and shoegaze from the 90s to mind, “The Last Time” is a shimmering and soaring offering about hating your job. Listen below and check the full album on Spotify.

Music makes the people come together, and so does love. Just like ABBA in the 70s – sorry did not have any other examples in mind -, Austin’s four-piece act Blushing comprises two husband and wife teams. The whole project started in the summer of 2015 when guitarist and singer Michelle Soto shared her songs with long-time friend and classically trained vocalist and bassist Christina Carmona. They were then joined by their respective husbands, Jake Soto on drums and Noe Carmona on lead guitar, and started working on their debut EP Tether which was self-released two years after.

Oscillating between indie pop, shoegaze and dream pop, Blushing‘s songs are both intense and aerial. Their last offering “The Truth” is no exception with its walls of guitars, reverb and chimerical double vocals. The first 30 seconds of the track were actually recorded live during a show​. Some mics were set up right before the band went on stage and captured the lo-fi, gritty acoustics intro. Just like the soundscapes, the lyrics of “The Truth” are also hazy. They seem to depict a love story between two people who have to face the rest of the world while dealing with their own insecurities.

But “The Truth” also conveys a clear message: forget about the others and feel the present moment. A situation that is metaphorically captured by the accompanying Kendall Chapman-directed video that we’re glad to premiere today. In the visuals, Blushing‘s members are enjoying life in a world totally on pause. Nearly five minutes of entertainement and pleasure without any social, human pressure. A dream, isn’t it?

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