Album Review // cataract // junk drawer ep

Self-released

4/5 stars

There's something about a certain kind of indie rock or shoegaze that can hit you on a deeper level. The sound reverb and fuzz intermingling and cascading over each other in overtones can be arresting at first, but more often than not, it feels like a warming blanket, a hand-me-down knitted throw that you can peek your eyes through. What also doesn't hurt is that this is precisely the right time of the year where I want to hear music like the junk drawer EP by cataract, a local project spearheaded by singer and guitarist Jake Swan. It's that liminal space where fall morphs into winter and you're caught without the right jacket. For well-worn fans of the genre, too, there can be nostalgia in the sound. Whether you discovered music like this from alt-rockers Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr. back in the day, next gen bands like Yuck, or nugazers all under heaven decades later, there's a link. That secret handshake (or at least an acknowledging nod) when something rings authentic. While the opening track "shine" may be the biggest winner of the bunch, acoustic transitions like "you not me" deliver feelings slightly different and totally welcome. At five tracks and 12 minutes, its biggest fault is that there isn't enough of it.