Once upon a time, there was a band called Au Revoir Borealis that released a delightful little EP titled Tienken.  Aside from a few other appearances here and there, I sort of lost track of the band and its members soon afterwards.  That is, until I found out about For Wishes’ I Will Burn Your Winter, a solo project from Au Revoir Borealis’ Steve Swartz.

For Wishes bears many sonic similarities to Au Revoir Borealis, as both bands are cut from the same gossamery cloth.  But For Wishes is much less prone to drift about, focusing less on the atmospherics and more on Swartz’ vocals and songwriting.  The album’s directness gives it an almost folk-y approach, albeit with silvery guitars that drift and shimmer and slight electronics.

Shoegazer-type music has never really been known for its lyrical depth.  That’s one of the weaknesses, I suppose, of the “vocals as just another instrument” approach.  You slather a voice with enough effects, and bury it beneath several layers of fuzzed out guitars, and it doesn’t matter what you sing - it’ll always sound like a choir of angels singing amongst the stars - but it does sometimes leave a faceless impression.  But with a more stripped down sound, the lyrics on I Will Burn Your Winter come to the forefront, with evocative and impassioned results.

Continue reading…