WaB.
There's no one here
WaB.
There's no one here
- release date /2024-08-17
- country /Japan
- gerne /Alternative Rock, Drum&Bass, Electronica, Noise, Shoegaze, Slowcore
The debut album from Tokyo-based solo artist Watanabe, under the project WaB.
From the moment playback begins, listeners are assaulted by a wall of noise so intense it feels as if finely crushed glass were poured directly into the ears. The album maintains this overwhelming sonic pressure throughout, yet it avoids monotony by interspersing ambient drum & bass passages and simple acoustic tracks that offer brief moments of respite.
Vocals alternate between clean singing and ferocious screams, with #7 “ether” standing out in particular. The intensity and precision of the screaming approaches the level of Gris’ Icare or early Alcest’s Neige, sure to satisfy veteran black metal fans. This extreme, heavily distorted form of shoegaze—exemplified by WaB. and Kuragari—I refer to as “aural destruction” shoegaze, and it seems to be gaining traction as a subtle but growing movement within the newgaze scene.
WaB. is also active live: a band-set performance under the name WarB is scheduled for January 23, 2025, at Cross in Chofu. Interested listeners can follow WarB.’s X for updates and further announcements.
