Audio By Carbonatix
Shoegazers sometimes get a bad name. There’s something to be said for bands that investigate the more restrained spaces of ethereal, dreamy pop — rather than attempting to shatter the passageways of their listeners’ inner ears — while contemplating issues of the heart. On its self-titled debut CD, Breathing Eve, which performs Saturday, December 8, at the Bluebird Theater with the Others and Space Team Electra, glides through a menagerie of wonderfully understated, carefully orchestral songs, evoking such kindred swirly spirits as the Innocence Mission and the Cure. The band uses quite a few instruments: keyboards, fuzzed-out guitars, clanging snare drums and vibrating basses. They just don’t use them all at once. There’s an artful restraint to the music that allows each of the five players to shine. Particularly sparkly is vocalist/guitarist Amy Schwettmann, whose unique voice is lovely, imperfect and sometimes fragile-sounding — a big part of her charm. As it marks a rare local appearance by Space Team Electra, Saturday’s show should help the free-spirited music lover come back away from earth.
