Among the many tragedies of music history, one certainly worthy of note is the fact that Miniatures, a New Zealand shoegaze group, isn't particularly well known, certainly not in the US. This band (which recorded in Melbourne, hence the confusion over whether they're Aussies or Kiwis) only had one other major release, 2013's Dis, before releasing Jessamines in 2017. Granted, shoegaze isn't everyone's cup of tea, but certainly fans of the genre can namecheck certain pantheon-level bands and albums - MBV, Slowdive, Lush, Ride, etc. It gets a bit trickier for "nu-gaze," those bands following in this tradition, and expanding upon it, in a small scale way in the 00's before emerging as a major influence in the '10s. Of this newer crop, Ringo Deathstarr, Diiv, Lowtide, No Joy, Tamaryn, and many others might get mentioned, but we don't seem to have quite the unified pantheon of the original 1989-95 generation. If we did, surely Miniatures would take pride of place here. From start to finish, this is about as perfect an album of this genre as one could every hope to find. While difficult to name any one song that stands out as the best of the bunch, when the bench is so consistently excellent, "What You Want" would probably have to be it. The band seems to have known that, which is why it got the music video treatment. (To avoid one possible misconception: "What You Want" is NOT a cover of the MBV song of the same name, and apart from also being an example of shoegaze and a breathtakingly great song, doesn't have any obvious connection to that original. The title, I guess, is merely coincidental.)
For me, Jessamines was kind of a slowburn. I originally only owned it digitally, and it certainly tickled my brain in just the right places for me to recognize it as an excellent album. But the quality of the album as a whole found me coming back to it again and again over the years, until I finally picked up this physical copy. To my delight, I found that it hit even deeper in this format. This is one of those albums where you'll notice new things every time you listen. Highest possible recommendation.
A tricky band to classify - think of Ida's "Will You Find Me", but leaning closer to dream pop than slowcore. Sadly, I discovered this classic about 10 years too late, but this was a serendipitous discovery on vinyl for me nonetheless. The music achieves a kind of timelessness here, evoking a sweet nostalgia, tinged with the wisdom of acceptance. A true masterwork.
Great experience, fast delivery, highly recommended.