Since their formation in 2022, five piece male//gaze have been pretty prolific with one album, one EP and several singles, offering the audience a distinctive blend of shoegaze textures, hardcore energy, and synth-pop melodies.
This new self-released record is a cathartic exploration of memory, loss and self-acceptance and the band has described it as “their most emotionally resonant work yet”. Even if you haven’t heard any of their past releases for comparison, be certain that you will understand what they mean by the first minute of listening.
TOO LATE NOW starts with ‘Falling’: some quiet steps are guiding the listener to open a squeaky door where a jingling of chimes opens a portal to their dimension. You’re welcomed by the softest voice and piano chords and everything is very dreamy, almost like the vision of a protective mother. Slowly the rhythms becomes impending, your ears open up and are ready to receive some louder harmonies chanting bittersweet lyrics. The song drops and the noise links you to the second track ‘Get Well’ the absolute gem of the EP. The whole band comes together here, the drums are locked-in, the bass line is carrying through the song and the guitars are sparkly. The vocal melodies are angelic but powerful and this time also accompanied by some hardcore screams in the background. This track has everything: post-hardcore, screamo, shoegaze, pop, electronic-synth. The band has been described by friends and fans as “aggressively cathartic” and this song is the proof of that.
Photo Credit: Male//Gaze
However, as soon as you thought you knew what type of band you were listening to, here come ‘Soft & Quiet’ and ‘Slaymaxxing’. The first is a dark, industrial, trip hop song that takes you to a more suggestive atmosphere. Reminiscent of Massive Attack in the first part, this tune ends up bursting into harmonic epic chaos once again. You can tell that different dynamics are definitely important to the band and it is really enjoyable to follow them throughout the listen. The second song is a fast ode to queercore and electro punk, with high-gain noise synths and breakcore beats. The two vocals of Ash and Hank have a completely different direction here, they are punk, angry and in your face. Raging lyrics call for raging instrumentals after all.
And like that, this song is gone, in less than 1 and half minute leaving you to pick up the pieces with ‘Speak (For Me)’. The dynamics in this track are back to mellow, necessary to be immersed into a more natural setting. Samplings of ambient background noises such as wind, birds and water gently envelop Ash’s calm voice here. It’s now a time to reflect and enjoy, hence maybe why this being the longest song of the EP. The echoed guitars and the warm bass tone accompany the vocals until the end when the repetition of the words “speak for me” in different harmonics notes wrap up the song in a perfect climax. TOO LATE NOW then ends with the galloping drums of ‘Returning’. This last epic track offers a feeling of hope as you can almost visualise a run towards something we are aiming to achieve. And the best thing is, that you can tell this dream actually happens at the end, you can really feel that something has shattered and set us free.
This EP is an absolute pleasure to listen to from the beginning to the end. This band of very talented composers knows very well how to evoke an image. The lyrics are sad yet comforting and their music is easy to follow regardless of its complexity while also dragging you into a meditative state. They are very successful in building up tension and harmonies and do that while mixing some of the most various genres with ease. Male//gaze is that type of discovery that you can’t wait to tell everyone you know about.
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