Toronto’s own The Neverminds came onto my radar last Spring, not too long after releasing their second EP Nevermind, The Winter, and I was more than happy to share their first video as an introduction last June. That was technically their last bit of officially released media so from a certain perspective it might seem like they haven’t done much since then… if you don’t count touring Japan, creating a local shoegaze scene under their Loveless Collective banner and staging the city’s first shoegaze festival this past Summer, to say nothing of gigging constantly and improving dramatically as a live outfit.
And their existing catalog also got some attention in the interim. Both the Nevermind, The Winter EP and its 2023 predecessor Nevermind, The Summer have only been given physical form on CD by Hong Kong label BVBHOO, and are available if you can navigate their bizarro website. They got their first vinyl release this Summer with China-based Otter Records this past May compiling both EPs onto one record (though without the instrumental tracks that fill out the CD editions). But new recorded material? No, they haven’t been up to much.
But that changed this weekend with the release of a double A-side single – as far as those terms mean anything in the digital world – in “afterglow” and “dawn”. Like their two EPs, “afterglow” and “dawn” are an expansive set piece, clocking in at almost 14 minutes collectively. The former is widescreen and gently builds to the inevitable crescendo while the latter is a dreamy waltz; both are brimming with wistfulness and nostalgia and elevated by Ginny Kim’s vocals, which echo Douglas Heart singer Malin Dahlberg’s tone and phrasing, a reference point that means something only to me but is absolutely a compliment.
They’ve always been unafraid to wear their influences on their sleeves, setting themselves apart from their peers with similar record collections by the strength of their conviction and execution, and an ambition that is undeniably grand and skyward. As someone who personally leans towards the Slowdive end of the shoegaze spectrum and has little use for the grunge-gaze conflation that defines a lot of current acts, I’m excited.
