The music scribes and bloggers that have already caught on to the band Conduits have all enjoyed bandying about the word “shoegaze” like a ball of yarn when talking about the band.
It’s an understandable and easy shorthand for a group that prefers darker, dreamier sounds carried to the apex by a female vocalist who sounds haunted and enraptured. And it’s a descriptor that this Omaha-based sextet wouldn’t necessarily mind as they do list Jason Spaceman (Spiritualized, Spacemen 3), Beth Gibbons (Portishead), and Slowdive among their varied musical inspirations.
HEAR “TOP OF THE HILL” MP3:
http://www.riotactmedia.com/mp3/01%20Top%20of%20the%20Hill.mp3
Truth be told, though, shoegaze only scratches the surface of what’s behind the music of Conduits. These aren’t affected youth staring at their guitar pedals and hoping that the audience in front of them would just go away. This is music that pulses and crackles with energy and incident.