by Zach Noel (@zachanoel)
For such well-trodden subgenres as shoegaze, noise-/dream/or jangle--pop, the most one reads about bands that play it is often more about who they sound like and not what they sound like, which poses a problem for those bands trying to carve out their own place and identity within it. Sure it’s easy to say a band sounds like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, or Cocteau Twins, but it’s a lot harder to say what they do with those sounds that make them as a band stand out on their own. On their second EP, Guided Imagery, Los Angeles shoegaze/noise-pop purists Mo Dotti mine the sounds of classic shoegaze, noise-pop, and jangly British guitar bands of yore, such as those described, but what sets them apart is how effortlessly they’re able to draw from each to make something that sounds unique. Featuring a refined and punchier form of songwriting than their lush, dreamier debut EP, 2020’s Blurring, their latest was produced once again by Joey Oaxaca, this time with mixing from Joojoo Ashworth.
Mo Dotti cuts through the hazy dream-pop atmosphere of Blurring, by blending both of these impulses to greater effect, putting the songs first as well as tight competent musicianship to match the atmosphere they augment. Post-punk grooves lay the foundation for unusually present (though impressionistic in content) vocals for the genre; bright, trebly guitars, noisy wah freakouts and feedback swells, groovy basslines, and of course, dense and LOUD fuzzy guitars. Doses of sweet-and-sour noise-pop meet intricate, multi-structured arrangements, whose strength is matched by within-a few-listens-worth hummable melodies and at the heart of it all: catchy, direct, and simply great songs.
It all kicks off with the searing air-raid guitar swells of “Loser Smile,” a fizzy, noise-pop bop that balances punchy guitar jangle with a dense bed of guitar fuzz in the chorus and bridge. Singer/guitarist Gina Negrini’s reverb-coated vocals (like the best of shoegaze) float within the mix as she sings of feelings of pining for someone to the point of paralysis. The interest themself is weighted down by their own dark disposition and can’t bring themself to reciprocate the feelings she has for them. Negrini sings, “Felt you loser smile/ Soaked in your gloom and I feel bruised/What if you don't love me? And you're gone/Far away/I'm failing all the time at everything/And then you'll never think of me again” describing it as “hopeless and tough” leaving her “breathless I'm stuck,” deliberately teasing out every line to highlight the sense of yearning. As the rhythm section grooves along, the song is lent an overall woozy feeling in the second verse as the drums pile on fill after fill and the guitars layer fuzz, while the bass is brought up front against her lovesick vocals. A clean solo plays against the main riff, while the bass plays a walking melody against the outline of the track, before it ends on a sudden swell of pitch-bent guitar feedback. Like love itself, this fizzy, noise-pop jam both sonically and tonally weighs the sweet against the sour; the rush of feelings that come with a new crush, the fear that they don’t feel the same way, and the mental anguish that these two feelings can leave one with.
The EP’s title track is carried by a see-sawing, lullaby-like waltz and lightly strummed acoustic guitar with additional bright-toned electric guitars, tambourine, and the addition of vocal harmonies that give the song layers of sonic color. Tremolo guitars bend in pitch while Negrini’s vocals highlight the rhythmic sway created by the band, singing each line of the chorus like a shoegaze lullaby. However, the dream is broken in the bridge with the sudden jolt of a loud, distorted guitar bashing away with aggressive staccato strums and the crash of cymbals blasting through the mix. The guitars oscillate with more helpings of woozy, feedback undulations in the background as the band continues to bob and weave.
“All Dressed Up in Dreams” is a brighter take on the Stephin Merrit of The Magnetic Fields-led supergroup The 6th’s indie-pop song of the same name, foregoing the twinkly toy piano, clatter of drums, and Mary Timony’s vocals for a sunnier, gentler take that plays to Mo Dotti’s keen pop sensibilities sometimes hidden beneath the fuzz and gives the band lots of space to filter the song through their own unique style and show off their collective strengths together as a band. Breezy guitar filigrees, an oscillating synth sound, and a walking bassline complement the core melody, with the addition of those searing fuzz guitar leads, but also captures a sweetly-sung vocal performance of the song’s story about a love left on read, “I got all dressed up in dreams/And I waited by the door/But you never even called/To tell me you don't love me anymore.”, that’s highlighted by the swoon of warm higher-pitched melodies that make it all the more endearing.
“Hurting Slowly” is another pleasant contrast in noise and pop with oblique verse melodies about an “aura” that “starts by glowing/it slinks inside of coffee/a little orb that's caught inside/yet somehow overflowing.” The song features a chorus of resignation with a melancholy melody and some lovely guitar interplay in the bridge that’ crashes to an end in chaotic guitar feedback. If there’s one track that exemplifies what the band are capable of musically beyond noise-pop, where all the elements previously heard on the EP come together brilliantly, it’s the extended psych-pop workout “Come On Music”. A multi-sectioned gallop of kaleidoscopic post-punk precision, psychedelic rave-ups (and comedowns), the song features fuzz-drenched wah, a never-static bassline, and what sounds like live and programmed drums, creating a dreamy rollercoaster ride of sound about the power of music. It picks up its intensity near the end as the entire band play off one another; twinkly guitars facing off and sliding all over the fretboard with sustained, “angry-cat” wah-wah sounds, tidal waves of crashing drums, and the aforementioned galloping bass all leading back to the song’s buoyant coda.
The EP closes with “Lights On In The Sun,” a hazy buzz of noise-pop carried by a steady drum beat, pitch-bent guitars that sound like they’ve been left out in the sun for too long, and echoey vocals that give it a disorienting but punchy ending to leave the EP on. With Guided Imagery, Mo Dotti bring their noise-pop via shoegaze instincts forward to greater effect thanks to sharply calibrated songcraft, impressive musicianship, and knowing when to counter with their noisier, chaotic tendencies.