Original shoegaze bands such as
My Bloody Valentine and
Slowdive allowed their guitar effects to practically swallow up their hazy vocals, creating thick textures and beautiful noise.
Air Formation, a successor that shares a love for the same techniques, is one such dream rock band that emphasizes that method all too much. The vocals are barely in the mix of
Stay Inside/Feel Everything's knee-deep effects, and it results in a one-trick offering for the British group. With no discernible melodies to make up for it, the group just gets lost in its own self-indulgence (the bandmembers even give themselves credit for drones and feedback). You have to listen very closely to hear what's going on, but even then, it's not interesting enough to keep your attention. Aside from the final acoustic track,
Stay Inside winds up becoming one long blur, while feeling too routine to be taken seriously. ~ Kenyon Hopkin