There are certain connotations associated with the sound of someone sighing: Contentment. Exasperation. Infatuation. A sigh is both the sound of tension and release, a dynamic that Vancouver’s Sigh playfully explore on their first release, Images.
Washes of feedback and fuzz muddy the melodies on “Dusty Rose”, lightly painting Dorothy Neufeld’s vocals with swaths of colour and contrast. The title track smoulders with a Velvet Underground-like intensity, aloof and laser-focused all at the same time. That near intangible push-pull quality bursts out of the speakers on “Pretty Furious” and “Signs”, the latter a lo-fi indie rocker with meat on its bones, the former a a sludgey blend of shoegaze-inspired vocals and super fuzzy guitars.
Images is a balanced blend, a satisfying combination of Sigh’s sweeter undertones and their tarty punch. I’m utterly smitten.