The Mourning is a somewhat mysterious new project that has been teasing its existence and forthcoming music for some time now, and finally dropped a two-song EP, Time Well Wasted, over the weekend for listeners to get a feel for what they're actually bringing to the table. My initial response is that it's nice to hear a contemporary band doing something different with shoegaze influences, because the genre is becoming very oversaturated with artists content to crank up a handful of effects pedals, bury whispered vocals in the mix, and call it a day.
And, sure, there are certain aspects of that approach herein, but the end result doesn't really come across that way. The singing style is rather restrained, for example, but it's not lifelessly monotone. And while large swaths of the compositions are made up of droning, atmospheric currents, the compositions are not so one-sided and stagnant as to become boring. "Mood Swings," in particular—even with its massive seven-minute run time—does a great job of utilizing contrast to retain interest in the rise-and-fall songwriting technique.
In all honesty, though, this material isn't fuzzed-out or dense enough to truly be called "shoegaze." It's more like dream pop for the dark and depressed or something. As I've said a hundred times before, however, it doesn't matter what it's called. I'm just a finicky novice fan of these corners of music struggling to say something that will pique someone's interest enough for them to hopefully say, "Huh, I'll check this out..."
...in which case, I'm not finding a Bandcamp page, but you can stream the tunes on Spotify and Apple Music, get a taste on YouTube, and also purchase mp3s through Amazon or whatnot.
