Clouds – THE STARGAZER LILIES: Occabot (Rad Cult, 2019)

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Nubes (o nubarrones) de distorsiones y los clásicos muros de sonidos del Shoegaze más visceral son las que adornan los cielos sonoros de la música de THE STARGAZER LILIES, combo de Portland que iluminan su cuarto álbum desde su debut en 2013. Vaivenes sónicos que tienen como característica principal la densidad y esa oscuridad levemente iluminada por efectos que consiguen esa ensoñación profundamente shoegazer.

“Occabot is the fourth album of The Stargazer Lilies, a heavy shoegaze and psychedelic pop ensemble formed in Portland from the ashes of a band called Soundpool by husband and wife John Ceperino and Kim Field, along with drummer Tammy Hirata. Six years away from their debut in 2013 with We are the Dreamers, the sound of the Lilies haven’t essentially changed, floating in that ever-reliable magic carpet of ethereal and distorted melodies led by the delightful vocal dubs of Kim Field, while gliding over a furious sea of saturated guitars and infinite echoes. If anything, the Lilies’ latest release improves the formula, culminating a long quest in search of a defining sound that now belongs to the band, even if that means drawing heavily from the holy grail of the genre, that album that some of you would have already guessed, is called Loveless.
Occabot feels like looking at a beautiful portrait while it melts. One can easily visualize the painting running down the canvas as it drips to the floor yet forming another piece of abstract art on the ground almost by accident. These casually formed layers of melody and noise are a carefully curated exercise of substance, a sound that is not easily achieved. And the Lilies have made their homework, giving the knots that extra turn and letting the songs slide into a slightly different sonic spectrum, resulting in something that is both familiar and satisfying.
“Magenta Sunrise” opens the album majestically. Field sings shrouded in distortion and echo, backed by a distant organ until the drums kick in with a psychedelic rock beat. In a few minutes, the Lilies already have made their case. If you have ever waked up in a hospital bed in the arms of morphine after being sucker punched in a drunk disco brawl, you are already well equipped for Occabot.
David Lynch comes to mind when “Monsters of Your Thought” follows up. It’s a sort of deformed ballad where melodies struggle to chain with each other, constantly coming in and out of pitch, while the tune peaks at a very inspired Floydian guitar solo courtesy of John Cep. “Foreverless” strangely sounds like Mötley Crüe with an overdose riding down Sunset Strip and crashing into Slowdive’s touring van. The hoarse guitar riff marries Field’s vocals beautifully, while Hirata’s simple but effective drumming supports the sonic storm as it cruises with extremely dense tempo.
The B side of Occabot is a bit less eventful albeit solid, mostly commanded by the six minutes of “Dizzying Heights” and the closing drone wonder of “Icarus Sun”. While Occabotmanages to ignite the flame that The Stargazer Lilies had in their first two albums, and that arguably went dim with the release of Lost 2 years ago, it is safe to say that the band is back to a comfortable spot in the shoegaze map. Aware of their influence, they simply amplify it, making you feel like you are sinking in a bed of electrified feathers, which in the end, it is all that one longs for in this, the land of noise and dreams” (Sputnik Music)

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Open to the Sun – THE STARGAZER LILIES: Lost (Graveface, 2017)

Aunque la propia banda no quiere que LOST (Graveface, 2017) se convierta en su tercer álbum de manera oficial, lo cierto es que es álbum contiene los elementos necesarios y la unidad ideal para ser considerado como tal.
No son STARGAZER LILIES una banda con un gran recorrido temporal, pero su sonido es absolutamente coherente y su trayectoria realmente deliciosa. Navegan a gusto entre las aguas más pausadas del Dream-Gaze aderezando el conjunto con jugosos toques del mejor Fuzz.
LOST es un disco en el que recopilan canciones que se les han ido quedando sin editar por el camino (en la era digital es lo más normal). Graveface Records les ha dado unidad y ha publicado este “tercer” álbum hasta el momento en que la banda quiera dar el paso a descubrirnos nuevos momentos mágicos.

“Lost” is a collection of songs which our public has grown to love over the years but we’ve never released on physical format. We have wanted to release a vinyl album of these songs for some time and are also including new tracks never heard before. This is a special limited edition release (NOT ALBUM #3). We are also hoping to help raise money to continue touring (including infantile stages of the planning of EU in Spring of 2017) and also help fund the remaining recording of album #3″ (Band)

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Paisajes y Figuras – THE STARGAZER LILIES: Door to the sun (Graveface Records, 2016)

Con este Door to the sun, THE STARGAZER LILIES consiguieron llegar a una pequeña cumbre: a la emoción de lograr la cima del Shoegaze más emocional, ambiental y psicodélico que podamos encontrar en nuestros días. Todo un manual sobre cómo emocionarnos a base de languidez sensual, densidad sonora, voces susurrantes y distorsiones diabólicas. 
Un grandísimo monumento al Shoegaze que tiene su continuidad en este año en curso.

“Ex-Soundpool brain trust Kim Field and John “Cep” Ceparano return with Door to the Sun, their second offering under the Stargazer Lilies banner. As first heard on 2013’s We Are the Dreamers, their particular brand of shoegaze is as murky as a bog filled with expired psychedelics. If anything, the rays of kaleidoscopic sun that shone through the emptier spaces of their debut are fewer and farther between on their follow-up. With Los Angeles-based drummer Tammy Hirata now onboard, the sound they deliver is massive, extremely dense, and frequently difficult. Slowly exhaling its hot breath is opener “Golden Key,” one of the album’s more structured and accessible tracks. Ceparano‘s lonesome squalls of ambient guitar tone wail like a wayward wind as Field‘s airy and mostly unintelligible voice dances across the top like a tumbleweed. Comprised of eight fairly lengthy tracks,Door to the Sun is a highly cerebral set where tumult and anxiety share quarters with — and usually dominate — their cousin radiance. “Drive” feels like a four-minute slow-motion car wreck where shards of harmonic beauty spill out of its shattered windows. A heavy layer of menace rolls like tank treads underneath the oddly sweet vocal melodies of “When with You” suggesting hidden powers and motives. “Personal Autumn” — whose title seems like it must have been generated by a dream pop/shoegaze song algorithm — contains some distant verses mostly blanketed by a harsh pastiche of what could be heavily-treated leaf blowers and rotting Hal Blaine drum patterns. Aside from the underlying impression of threat that seems to pervade nearly every song, Door to the Sun plays out like a fairly standard, if exceedingly heavy shoegaze album. Hearing or understanding the Lilies‘ lyrics is out of the question, as is any real semblance of standard pop structure, but in the parlance of one of rock’s vaguer subgenres, it seems like they’ve succeeded” (All Music)

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Gafas de colores – STARGAZER LILIES: Door to the sun (2016)

Densidad, trallazos emocionales, guitarras a volúmenes insanos y composiciones cien por cien shoegazers. La música de Stargazer Lilies transcurre mansamente por las orillas del género más justamente reivindicado de los últimos tiempos. Gran disco.

“Ex-Soundpool brain trust Kim Field and John “Cep” Ceparano return with Door to the Sun, their second offering under the Stargazer Lilies banner. As first heard on 2013’s We Are the Dreamers, their particular brand of shoegaze is as murky as a bog filled with expired psychedelics. If anything, the rays of kaleidoscopic sun that shone through the emptier spaces of their debut are fewer and farther between on their follow-up. With Los Angeles-based drummer Tammy Hirata now onboard, the sound they deliver is massive, extremely dense, and frequently difficult. Slowly exhaling its hot breath is opener “Golden Key,” one of the album’s more structured and accessible tracks. Ceparano‘s lonesome squalls of ambient guitar tone wail like a wayward wind as Field‘s airy and mostly unintelligible voice dances across the top like a tumbleweed. Comprised of eight fairly lengthy tracks,Door to the Sun is a highly cerebral set where tumult and anxiety share quarters with — and usually dominate — their cousin radiance. “Drive” feels like a four-minute slow-motion car wreck where shards of harmonic beauty spill out of its shattered windows. A heavy layer of menace rolls like tank treads underneath the oddly sweet vocal melodies of “When with You” suggesting hidden powers and motives. “Personal Autumn” — whose title seems like it must have been generated by a dream pop/shoegaze song algorithm — contains some distant verses mostly blanketed by a harsh pastiche of what could be heavily-treated leaf blowers and rotting Hal Blaine drum patterns. Aside from the underlying impression of threat that seems to pervade nearly every song, Door to the Sun plays out like a fairly standard, if exceedingly heavy shoegaze album. Hearing or understanding the Lilies‘ lyrics is out of the question, as is any real semblance of standard pop structure, but in the parlance of one of rock’s vaguer subgenres, it seems like they’ve succeeded” (All Music)

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