Naves – Voyeur

From Santiago, Chile comes this alternative band with an eerie psychedelic sound that drowns you in a kind of trance with its flanged, swirling guitars and slow mood with some nice emo vibes, all wrapped up in an ambience that makes you think of bands like Hum, Title Fight, or even Duster and Codeine. But what’s so special about it? Let’s check out Voyeur.

This isn’t your typical Run For Cover rip-off band that idolizes the ’90s. While there’s a lot of nostalgia in this album, you can tell the band is trying to mix things up beyond the typical alternative rock/shoegaze standard. The waves and rhythms, the way phaser, chorus, and flanger mix together, the changing tempos, and the overall energy create something that says, “Hey, we are trying to do more than just emulate that one band that was popular 20 years ago. Naves finds its voice in melancholic moods, tired voices, big waves of pulsating guitars and a constant beat with a wavy bass. While they define themselves as a mixture of emo, post-hardcore and psychedelic rock, I can hear very present traces of slowcore and space rock.

While the compositions are beautiful, well done and everything is well executed, one of the higher points of this album is the production. The ocean of sound is crystal clear, you can identify every single drop, taste every texture. The album rises above the shoegazy wall of sound noise. You can close your eyes and feel it all. Bind yourself to the introspective energy of this album. Use the melancholy as a way to relax and think. Exorcise those little demons. Let the words flow in and out. Breathe in.

But this album isn’t all sadness. It has pretty straightforward songs like “Saliva”, the eighth track, and “Calma”, the ninth, that still manage to maintain the consistency of the album. However, the songs that describe the whole sound of the band better are the longer ones, like “Glaciación” and “Humedad”, mostly for the mood. So, if you are ready for a big trip, press play and go.