The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa - Pigment

Artist: The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa
Album: Pigment
Release: 1991
Label: Ecstasy Release

Tracklist:

1. What's
2. Square Wave
3. Who's
4. Honeyrain

A few months back, I had posted Swirlies' Blonder Tongue Audio Baton and stated it was my favorite shoegaze LP, which certainly remains true. However, I suppose I was not as clear as I could have been, as it is not my favorite release, which brings us to this post: The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa's Pigment, my absolute favorite shoegaze release.

The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa was a band from the Czech Republic in the early 90s that went from My Bloody Valentine-worship (this release and their first LP Susurrate) to perfect space rock (...fluidtrance centauri...) to ambient, bliss pop (their most-excellent Free-D (Original Soundtrack) 2xLP) to lame, derivative electronica. During their (heavily) MBV-influenced phase, the band created its best music. I love both of the releases with this sound, but their original 12" EP release is by far my favorite and, in my humble opinion, actually surpasses anything MBV ever created.

Pigment is absolutely perfect. These four songs alternate back an forth between frenetic noise pop and hypnotic, droning pillars of feedback. At the risk of sounding like I write for MRR, "What's" is one of the best openers I've ever heard and sets up the rest of the album perfectly. "Who's" essentially accomplishes the same thing on the B-side, with both of these tracks acting as the perfect setup for two of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard: "Square Wave" an "Honeyrain." These two tracks are anchored by swathes of breathtaking noise and are truly launched into perfection with the mesmerizing vocals of Irna Libowitz. Shoegaze does not get better than this.

Please do yourself (or me) a favor and check out this phenomenal piece of music. Seriously, it's one of my favorites and I wish that everyone would love it as much as me. Who knows why?

Download Here

-Adam