The 2020s are shaping up to be the best era for lovers of ’90s alt-rock since that decade ended, with grunge, shoegaze, and slacker rock all infiltrating the mainstream (what’s up with that Pavement movie?) and underground alike. NYC quartet Shower Curtain are among the groups from the latter category intermixing each of these sonic reference points, with their brooding, lo-fi sound aligning them with the Julia’s War label roster. Yet their debut album words from a wishing well is scheduled to land next Friday via Angel Tapes, the burgeoning Fire Talk imprint that specializes in the aforementioned subgenres via the output of Feller, Lots of Hands, Ira Glass, and more.
Ahead of the release of their debut album, Shower Curtain are sharing another single from the release which clings to the tail end of the ’90s—namely the Y2K anxiety that gave way to nu-metal angst in the early 21st century. The result is a sharp-edged epic which builds and releases over the course of five and a half minutes as vocalist Victoria Winter’s soft vocals get swallowed up by scuzzy guitar riffs and tight percussion “Production-wise, I wanted the guitars to have a ’90s feel,” Winter shares. “We were also testing the use of the drum machine in the song. I was inspired by the returned use of Y2K drum machine sounds in contemporary indie music.”
Naturally, the song’s music video embraces an equally late-’90s feel—despite the title being a phrase chillingly recited by Frank Booth—with Sex Week’s Pearl Amanda Dickson and Richard Orofino creating something resembling Hal Hartley’s NYC-set films from that era. “I’ve been following their latest releases and really loved all the visuals they were making for their project,” Winter adds of teaming up with Sex Week. “Felt like this song was up their alley in regards to the mood, and [we] trusted their aesthetic direction for this project. I loved the way they were able to translate a seemingly sweet song into something a bit more moody.”
Check out the video below, and pre-order words from a wishing well here.
