Turnaround (10th Anniversary Re-Recording) by Tokyo Shoegazer

True to shoegaze’s noise rock roots but willing and able to vastly expand the genre’s definition, Turnaround (10th Anniversary Re-Recording) by Tokyo Shoegazer explores levels of deep, noisy chaos that we normally only find in black metal while also working in some touching orchestral moments with unlikely instrumentation. Each track brings remarkable levels of variety, at times even reaching into free jazz territory as an assembly of auxiliary instruments establish melodies on top of familiar droning guitars. On the tracks with strong, steady lead melodies like these, we get a sense of the battle between rational thought and roaring emotions, as every independent melody on this record dangles precariously over a bottomless pit of abstract noise. By the end of the album, however, these two elements work seamlessly in tandem, reminding us that our emotions add to our experience of the world, that taming and dampening shouldn’t always be the answer.