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Jul 26, 2013 Web Exclusive By Dan Lucas

Take a tour of the 2013 festival circuit and you will find definitive proof, if any were still needed, of the rejuvenation of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s shoegaze movement. It’s tempting to label the bands currently riding the wave as “post-shoegaze,” but Weekend neatly demonstrates why such a label is a bit of a misnomer. New album Jinx carries on in much the same vein as debut LP Sports: a band not so much influenced by the sound of Killing Joke and The Brian Jonestown Massacre as recreating it.

It’d be easy to dismiss Jinx as derivative, but this is unfair. Yes, it does sound as though Weekend has been listening to a “who’s who” compilation playlist of 1980s alternative music, but such a huge range of influences—Depeche Mode, Ride, The Jesus and Mary Chain, to name but a few—tends to lend itself to creating something genuinely original.

Admittedly, there are a few “sound-alike” tracks on here: “It’s Alright” has an intro straight off of The Cure’s Disintegration, and on “July” especially, singer Shaun Durkan performs a pitch-perfect Morrissey impression. It says a lot for the band’s songwriting abilities that these moments stand out as nods to their forerunners rather than grate as pastiches.

Most important of all, this represents a real progression from Sports. The loud violence and nastiness that partly characterized the first record is now an echo, the lingering smell of burnt toast. Now there are keyboards and lightness, and perhaps a greater focus on melody. Whereas Sports raged, Jinx is at once soaring and uplifting. (www.myspace.com/weekendmusic)

Author rating: 8/10