REVIEW

The second EP from Russian shoegaze band Life on Venus.

Formed in Moscow in 2015, Life on Venus initially began as a four-piece before expanding to five members during the recording of their debut album. By the time of the third album “Homewards,” the lineup had settled into a trio consisting of Dmitry Kostryukov (vocals/bass), Oleg Kopytin (guitar), and Gulnara Tukshaitova (drums).

The band first came to wider attention with their debut EP “Departure.” Its opening track, #1 “What Lies Beneath,” left a strong impression with its anguished melodic arc and crushing waves of distortion. Although the song was later re-recorded for the second album, the EP version—with its rougher, less polished sound—arguably conveys a sharper sense of pain and immediacy. That preference may well be shaped by familiarity, but the emotional impact remains difficult to ignore.

On this second EP, the group’s defining melancholic sensibility is firmly intact. Fragile arpeggios, reminiscent of the band’s oft-cited admiration for Slowdive, cascade through the mix as Kostryukov’s delicate vocals echo with a restrained sense of sorrow. Together, they form soundscapes that evoke images of night and winter, cold yet quietly luminous.

At moments, the music suggests an image somewhere between a lost version of The Daysleepers wandering a midnight snowfield and a shoegaze-inflected reimagining of The Cure’s “Disintegration.” At the same time, the EP incorporates a weight and density that aligns it with more recent strains of heavy “newgaze.” The balance between fragility and force feels carefully judged, leaving little sense of excess or compromise.

As a result, this release can be seen as one of the more compelling modern expressions of dark shoegaze. Listeners drawn to acts such as Whirr, Last Leaf Down, or Holy Fawn are likely to find much to appreciate here.