If shoegaze has taken something of a back seat of late, its certainly being brought to the fore again with the London-based outfit SULK. On their second single release, Back In Bloom, they are seemingly revitalising the genre in a psychedelic, dreamy kind of way that reminds of the baggy grooves of Primal Scream, Ride and the Stone Roses; filled with melliferous reverb-laced guitars, close your eyes and its like the 90s are still here.
Formed from the ashes of The Ruling Class (by vocalist Jon Sutcliffe, and guitarists Tomas Kubovicz and Andy Needle), SULK (always capitals, please) may have the wailing guitars that sweep over you in waves, but Back In Bloom delivers with more of a purpose and edge than its single predecessor, Wishes, that is both seductive and addictive. The pounding drums crash the opening, leading into achey-breaky droning guitars, over which Sutcliffes vocals penetrate deep and darkly into the psyche.
The end result being that Back In Bloom is something a bit blooming good. And if they have more material that meets the same standard as this, mark SULK down as a contender for 2012s Hot List.