The Beremy Jets: Backup Friend EP (Self Release, 2017)

The Beremy Jets: Backup Friend EP (Self Release, 2017)

by Jason

The Beremy Jets is the project of Paul Saarnak, hailing from Sweden, who currently is the drummer of Slowmotion Club and LKWRM. In The Beremy Jets, Saarnak is a multi-instrumentalist, taking on the role of guitarist, bassist, drummer, and vocalist. Backup Friend is his second EP and his second release. His brand of shoegaze is on the louder side, with swirling tumults of guitars, aggressive bass, and crash-heavy percussion. His vocals are reverb drenched and dreamy, buried in the walls of sound.

Backup Friend begins with the bouncy “A.C.”. Fuzzy drenched guitars and feedback invite the listener into Saarnak’s swirling shoegaze world. He adds touches to the wall of sound, like breezy sounds that wisp through the speakers among the churning density of his guitar walls. Not quite My Blood Valentine in terms of the soundscapes, Saarnak creates a beautiful medium between noise and brightness, flooding the speakers with a sort of elation that is unique to the creative and improvised nature of this genre. “Six Degrees of Separation Anxiety” has swirling guitars with aggressive drum and bass. This reminds me a lot of the work of Steve Kennedy in Sciflyer and I mean that as the highest compliment. The layered guitars sing out a melody among the soundscape as Saarnak breathes his ghostly lyrics. As the walls fall, glimmering guitars sing out pensively before the track fades. The droning guitar leads directly into the third track, “Scandi Sneakers”.

“Scandi Sneakers” is a much slower piece, with a dreamy, almost contemplative feel as the warm fuzzy guitars wrap themselves around the listener and beautiful bass lines march through their density. There is a metronomic quality to the guitar lines that is hypnotic. The bridge is particularly beautiful with floating guitar walls and a gorgeous melody picked as the last parts of the track approach. There is also an almost jazz feel here as well, with Saarnak’s brilliant drum work shining through. This leads into the finale to the EP, “Feedback Over Talent”. A fuzzed-out guitar is strummed at a medium tempo as it moves about like an undulating wave. Drums, bass, and whispery vocals join the wall of sound as they sit amid the swirls and other layers begin to fill out the soundscape. Sonically, this track is grittier and has more fuzzy edges. The central piece to “Feedback Over Talent” is an extended instrumental that captivates with its repetition and then eventually begins to fall apart as the wall of sound breaks down, layers are stripped away, and only brilliance is left.

Paul Saarnak has proven to be an adept multi-instrumentalist over the eight songs he has released. His brand of shoegaze is brilliant and complex, with Backup Friend possibly sitting on top of EP lists for 2017. Yes, I know it’s early, but this release ought to be praised for the fact that it already stands out. Lastly, the EP will also be released on a very limited edition cassette through Somewherecold Records. The cassette will be entitled EP Collection 1 and will include Backup Friend and The Alchemy Attack EP’s. More information on pre-orders very soon.


 

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