Bliss Fields

Slowly, Forever, the debut LP from Toronto shoegazers Bliss Fields, answers a lot of questions just by simply existing. The band formed in 2013 under a different name, disbanded in 2016, and reformed a year later with a shuffled lineup. Fittingly, the first full-length with the current roster — vocalist/guitarist Scott Downes (he/him), vocalist/bassist Tegan Boni (they/them), guitarists Brandon Santi and Darian Palumbo (he/him), and drummer Leigh Fisk (he/him) — debates the pull of togetherness versus pushing away the anguish of being known. That middle ground is where their mastery of tone and shape comes into full focus.

For fans of shoegaze’s churning exposition and hazy kinetic energy, Slowly, Forever wears those influences like badges of honor. “Clementine,” a jangling starburst, trades vocal lines between Downes and Boni while bright leads dangle overhead, while “Away” has instrumentals which slide over each other, only for a thorny solo to rise above the friction with buzzing clarity. More obscure moments, like the shroud of smoky ambience choking “When We’re Together” and the towering expansiveness of the title track, undulate between raw power and nuance. There’s enough urgency and tumult on display for this to be a primer on the genre’s ghosts and current haunts—maybe you’ll fall for it now, or maybe slowly over time—either way forever.

- James Cassar