PacificUV has undergone many changes since 2003’s Longplay 1. Guitarist Clay Jordan lost the rest of his bandmates and moved from Athens to Portland in search of new ones. One former bandmate helped to form Glowworm, and the two bands now share a drummer. In addition to playing guitar, Jordan now shares vocal duties with Carolyn Berk of Lovers.
Fans of Longplay 1 will find much that is familiar here, but Longplay 2 will also have an easy time winning newcomers. PacificUV operates in the field of modern shoegaze, paying homage to vintage bands while attempting to contribute something new. The “something new” that this band brings is a touch of electronica, but just a touch, in the same way that Wendy’s spicy chicken has just “a little kick.”
TSB readers should be warned upfront that while half the album is instrumental, the vocal half prevents the project from reaching its full potential. The tracks that feature male vocals are the weakest. “Need” would probably make a good single due to its familiar intonations, reminiscent of The Church, but its lyrics are not very original. “Waiting” repeats a single line, allegedly based on a Def Leppard verse. “If So” bubbles but never quite surfaces.
Berk’s tracks are better. “Tremelo” makes wise use of glissando guitars, brushed drums, and subdued bells, building the song around Berk’s fragile voice like starlings tucking fuzz around fresh eggs. In “Something Told Us,” Berk is only a ghostly presence around the edges of a slow flirtation between guitar and reverb. The flirtation develops into a torrid romance in its final minute.
This leaves only three tracks, and one of them (album closer “LJIV”) is little more than a piano and violin sketch, a forlorn lullaby that while fitting as a closer, seems a little bit stretched. Re-sequence the tracks, however, and “LJIV” begins to sound different, gaining gravitas. My suggestion would be to begin with the 8-minute “Alarmist,” the solidly post-rock piece that opens the album. After a languid build, the piece reaches full volume its fourth minute, introduces vocoder in its fifth, and adds a faint electronic choir in its sixth, before eventually fading into a river of lilting strings. From there, the listener is advised to skip forward to Track 4 (the aforementioned “Something Told Us”), then to Track 6, the 10-minute “Orson.” The gradual thickening of this track is nothing new, but the electronic squelches are a bonus. Because this track eases off at the end, it becomes a perfect introduction to “LJIV;” one simply has to skip the track in the middle.
Congratulations, you’ve just listened to a really good EP; unfortunately, this is an album. A little more weeding and PacificUV will have a very nice garden.
-Richard Allen