Search - Loomer :: World Tipped Blue

When you're in Detroit, scour the used CD bins

Stargrazer | deep in the heart of Michigan | 07/30/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An unfortunately overlooked album, Loomer's studio-driven "World Tipped Blue" missed both shoegaze boats -- the first one that birthed My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and The Cocteau Twins; and the second, more recent resurgence of the sound. Falling squarely in the crack where shoegaze was a derogatory term in the popular press, even the band name conjures track 2 off of "Loveless."



Not being "garage rock" in 1999 was probably their fatal marketing mistake.



In fact, Loomer's roots reach deeper, they played their _last_ live gig in 1996! Listened to in this context, one sheds the obvious comparisons and begins to align them with their fellow Detroit-based, studio-driven band His Name Is Alive.



"World Tipped Blue" manages to hit a few pop buttons within it's dreamy drone, including sleeper grooves like "Queen Libertine" and the closing instrumental "Nitrous" with its growly, circular bassline.



Were they revivalists, or harbingers? The jury may be out (and the record may be out of print) -- but everyone I've played it for wants a copy."