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Apr 25, 2014 Web Exclusive By Michael Wojtas

Fear of Men‘s proper debut comes on the heels of last year’s singles collection, Early Fragments. Judging by Loom‘s militant drum loops, lusciously layered vocals and rippling, backward guitar textures, the gloom pop quartet has been taking notes on Loveless’ obscure passages.

If Loom sounds nearly symphonic next to Fear of Men’s skeletal early work, it’s no less haunting. This is the rare offering of post-Smiths jangle that doesn’t rely on pomp or posturing (Keats and Yeats are clearly on frontwoman Jessica Weiss’s side, not Wilde). It’s also real emotional currency in a time when too many young, like-minded U.K. bands are just trafficking in counterfeit 4AD graveyard games. Try keeping the hairs on the back of your neck in place while Weiss spectrally intones “I bend beneath the water/I bend beneath the sea” with the gravity of someone who’s really suffered, not merely sulked over Slowdive and Felt records. (www.facebook.com/fearofmen)

Author rating: 8/10