IF you thought the distinctive fuzzy sound of the shoegaze genre shuffled off in the early 90’s, then think again. Bournemouth band The Death of Pop is crafting some truly beautiful and well-polished songs.

Made up of three brothers and two cousins, the tight knit band has won the Daily Echo and O2 Academy Bournemouth Unsigned track of the week. 

A magic carpet ride of fuzz and distortion, Whenever was released as a single this week via south coast independent label, Art Is Hard. Drummer Thom James explains how the song was born: “Whenever came about as the result of a jam session.

The chorus was written first with the ‘ooohhs’ and the song was built around it. It’s a different style for us and a bit more straight to the point.”

The Death of Pop came together last year with the family members joining from previous local bands.

You can hear the ghost of shoegaze on their earlier recordings such as Sun In My Eyes, which is also available to listen to at the Unsigned page. Moving forward, the band has created something fresh with an irresistible twist on the musical genre.

“Definitely My Bloody Valentine is an influence and the tremolo effect. We’re heavily into a lot of the early shoegaze bands like Ride, MBV and similar bands like Teenage Fanclub. We wanted to see if we could recreate that sound live and give it a new kick,” says Thom.

The foreseeable future is set to be busy for the boys, with a new EP Fifths due for release later next month. “The reaction has been phenomenal, we had a break after writing and this has given us new energy. We love playing in Bournemouth, but it’s difficult to play regularly due to the few venues.”