After releasing a fine debut album that mixed the peppy melodies and buzzing guitar noise of dream pop bands like
Lush and more recent groups like
Dum Dum Girls, the mixed German/British foursome
Chorusgirl change things up on their second album. Released in 2018,
Shimmer and Spin dials back the tempos and noise levels in search of something more intimate and reflective of the few years of tumult the group experienced. Lineup changes, their label folding, Brexit, and main songwriter
Silvi Wersing's struggles with anxiety led to a more introspective and measured approach that's clear on the first song, "In Dreams." Here, and on much of the album,
Chorusgirl show a great deal of restraint, leave their distortion pedals in their gig bags, and save lots of space in the arrangements for
Wersing's subtly powerful vocals to come through. Even the songs that have some of the get-up-and-go that the songs on their debut had use shifts in dynamics to create drama and don't rely on the same fuzzy gut-punch to get results. Uptempo tracks like "Vor dem Fall" and "Kinetic Theory" work thanks to the strength of the melodies, the band's sprightly approach, and the insistent vocals. The slower songs work for much the same reason, especially when
Wersing digs in and accesses a deeper level of emotion than in the past. Album highlight "Not Yours" is a fine example of this. What doesn't really work are the two songs new guitarist Faith Taylor contributes. They are dropped back-to-back in the middle of the record and bring things to a shuddering halt. Both "Demon Baby" and "Love Is Like" are decent enough modern guitar pop and Taylor really sells them vocally, but they are much showier and more glossily produced than the rest of the songs. It's a jarring interlude that didn't need to be there, and it detracts from how steady and strong the rest of the album is. Apart from that stumble, the band's mild transformation from a noise pop band to something lighter and more emotionally well-rounded is a calmly rousing success.