softsurf release long-awaited Japanese shoegaze album Gazing at a Mind

Nagoya shoegaze band softsurf release Gazing at a Mind on 10 May, presenting a full-length statement from one of Japan’s more compelling modern dream-pop and shoegaze acts. Formed in 2016, the band has built its reputation through cinematic soundscapes, melancholic melodies and ethereal dual vocals, and this debut album arrives after earlier releases such as Into the Dream and Returning Wave.

The tracklist includes Gazing at a Mind, 空, 零, Neonarium, Nightfeel, Hazy Dusk, In the White Sands, Cosmic Eyes and Voyager, which already suggests a record built around atmosphere, light, movement and distance. What makes this release especially interesting is the production detail: softsurf produced the album themselves, with multiple engineers involved in drum recording and mixing, and mastering handled by Mark Gardener of Ride/OX4 Sound.

That connection will immediately catch the attention of shoegaze fans, because Ride remain one of the genre’s foundational names. Gazing at a Mind should appeal to listeners who like the dreamy, immersive side of indie rock: glowing guitar layers, blurred vocals, soft emotional gravity and the feeling of staring through a window at a city after dark. Stream/buy: https://gerpfastkolektif.bandcamp.com/album/gazing-at-a-mind