by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Over the holiday break I spent some time in Portland and was lucky enough to catch Floating Room open for Helvetia (playing Duster songs no less). While I had never heard the band before (shame on me, I know), I was pretty blown away. It can be hard for an opener when the room is highly anticipating the headliner, but Floating Room's dreamy shoegaze was the perfect warm-up. The band released their debut album, Sunless, back at the tail end of 2016, and their phenomenal follow-up is set for release this summer via Good Cheer Records. In the meantime, we're excited to premiere the video for the band's new stand-alone single "Paper Cuts" together with their upcoming tour dates.
"Paper Cuts," originally released as a bonus track on Good Cheer's 2017 Label Sampler, is Floating Room at their dreamiest and most tranquil state. The track works itself into a blur, a layered drone of drifting melodies that move in ambient waves. The delicately thickened reverb is void of any rhythmic structures or the band's surging guitar attack, opting instead for a peaceful haze and contemplative beauty. Speaking about the video, Floating Room's Maya Stoner shared:
"In this video I play with the male gaze. In feminist philosophy this is the act of depicting women from a masculine and heterosexual point of view and in such a manner that they appear so passive that the viewer feels welcome to objectify freely. Women are often depicted looking away so that one feels shameless in their observation of her."
Tour Dates:
3/09 - Oakland, CA @ The Hole
3/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Topspace
3/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex
3/12 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavillion
3/13 - Albuquerque, NM
3/14 - Austin, TX @ 720 Club (Official SXSW Showcase) at 9PM w/ Oh, Rose, Hex, Savak, The RPMS, The Ghost Wolves, & High Waisted
3/15 - Austin, TX @ Eden House Co-Op (Phluff Unofficial Showcase) w/ The Spirit of the Beehive, Strange Ranger, Pardoner, & more
3/16 - Austin, TX @ Good Relation House w/ Spirit of the Beehive, Pardoner, Hello Shark & more
3/17 - Austin, TX @ Highland w/ A Deer a Horse, Exhalants, & AquaticA