REVIEW

The debut album from Colorado shoegaze band Warper.

Production, mixing, and mastering were handled by Corey Coffman, known for his work with Trauma Ray and Soft Blue Shimmer.

Operating as a duo—Jack McManaman (guitars, bass, synths, string arrangements) and Adam Gilsdorf (drums)—Warper describe themselves simply as “Colorado downer” in their Instagram bio, an apt shorthand for the band’s distinctly somber aesthetic. Rather than pursuing the heavy shoegaze lineage associated with acts such as Nothing or Deftones, the group leans toward a more introspective and melancholic sound.

Jack McManaman’s fragile, sorrow-tinged vocals intertwine with lyrics reflecting loneliness, loss, personal inadequacy, and the tensions within love. Together they guide the listener into a deeply reflective emotional space. While at times oppressive walls of guitar noise surge forward, the arrangements also make room for passages of delicate suspension reminiscent of slowcore, gently tempering the album’s emotional weight. This interplay between restraint and release gives the record much of its dynamic character—an approach that also reflects Corey Coffman’s refined production sensibilities.

The closing highlight arrives with #9 “Something to Be Learned from a Rainstorm.” The track begins quietly with luminous arpeggios before erupting into a cathartic swell of distortion. Yet the song does not end there: it recedes once more into a softer passage before building toward a final, second crescendo, concluding the album with a strikingly dramatic two-stage structure.

Elsewhere, moments in #3 “Forever” and #6 “Jinx” reveal vocal phrasing that occasionally recalls Jonas Renkse of Katatonia—a detail that may resonate with listeners from the progressive and melancholic metal sphere. Katatonia themselves have occasionally touched on dream pop textures in their catalogue, and Warper’s sound at times invites speculation about how that sensibility might evolve if taken further into shoegaze territory.

With its brooding atmosphere and inward-looking lyricism reinforcing one another, the album presents a finely crafted example of melancholic shoegaze, capturing emotional fragility with notable compositional control.