SPC ECO – You Tell Me (2011) [XD // Grade: B-

UK gazers Curve were around for over a decade, released five albums from 1992 to 2002 and called it quits in 2007. Leaving behind a legacy and expression perfect for fans of Garbage, Portishead and—of course—My Bloody Valentine, the act’s albums Doppelgänger, Cuckoo and Come Clean seemed favorites upon release. Formed in 2007, but waiting until around 2009 before debuting with 3-D, former Curve multi-instrumentalist, onetime Eurythmics player and member of a handful of side projects, Dave Garcia formed SPC ECO (Space Echo) with daughter Rose Berlin and guitar wizard Joey Levenson. A lulling approach to the explored (and at times expired) mixture of moody, swirling density smeared in gaze, the band recently released a new set, You Tell Me, via Bandcamp and XD Records.

Much like Curve, SPC ECO favors the distance, the delicacy and the space that that above-mentioned gaze can create. Compiling eight previously unreleased tunes, two remixes and a handful of ‘best-of’ selections from their former EP sets, the collection is swirling, vast and very easy to get lost in. The best approach seems to first follow the songs outright, listening to the mix and how the band slices layer upon layer atop of it. Recorded, produced and mixed by Garcia with most of the writing duties split between him and his daughter, SPC ECO prove here that the traditional shoegazer’s feeling of being weightless, lost or swimming in sonic haze for about an hour before speakers can still sound as such. Mixing heavy remnants of industrial, alternative, gothic rock and trip hop, the collection’s densely layered skin is where the band really does shine.

What then also becomes the lovely little challenge with Tell Me is attempting to pluck out and follow one instrument over another: the swirling guitar smear, Berlin’s lulling vocal harmonies or the velvety electronic atmosphere, mechanized percussion thumping. This proves more fun on busier tracks like the dubby, lullaby swerve of “Fall a Million Ways,” standout “Forever Each Day,” the twisty electronic lull of “Calling,” or when Berlin’s double-tracked harmony atop wined cosmic guitars hits on “Let it Out” like a tersely delicate puff of cool air on a blistering afternoon. The drifting celestial effects, the ambient lull and the lo-tempo mood all stamp out another collection that’s perfectly safe for the “joyfully dark vibe” its label promises.

- The Holloweyed