Graywave - Rebirth [CD]

Surfacing from ethereal and dreamier planes, UK shoegaze and dreampop act GRAYWAVE are one of the latest additions to the Church Road Records roster. Following on from their 2021 debut EP proper, Planetary Shift, GRAYWAVE is set to release their second extended play, Rebirth, on June 24. Formed in Birmingham, UK in 2019 as a solo venture and creative outlet for Jess Webberley, GRAYWAVE has already amassed a steady stream of singles and qualitative short form releases - drip feeding fans a highly ambitious and modern take on dreampop and shoegaze’s storied sonic spectrum. Returning in 2022, Rebirth is the most revealing and entrancing look into GRAYWAVE’s evolution as an artist. Trading in some of the lo-fi tendencies of her earlier output, Rebirth sees Webberley embrace darker soundscapes and sonic weight across the release’s five tracks. GRAYWAVE’s latest effort is a confident seizing of identity and assured meeting point for the project’s initial potential and newfound blossoming. Opener, Build, and Rebirth’s title track rattle with rhythmic unease and confrontation, as Webberley’s voice drifts between somnolent hypnosis and arresting command. Elsewhere, Closer and Exoplanet effortlessly tie together 90s influence in the vein of Cocteau Twins and Drop Nineteens with a modern touch similar to US contemporaries Citizen. Following their recent union with Church Road Records, 2022 will see GRAYWAVE continue to shine across the UK live circuit. Having already sold out hometown shows, as well as getting through to the latter stages of the Isle of Wight Festival’s ongoing musical showcase that offers a spot on the festival’s New Blood stage, and performing with UK hardcore upstarts Cruelty. Living up to its name, Rebirth is already proving to be a fruitful time of growth for Webberley and GRAYWAVE’s creative self-actualisation - offering fans new and old the most conceptually realised iteration of the project’s limitless avenues of artistic promise yet.