Beliefs

Why does such an exciting genre attract such persistently uninspiring descriptions? Hazy, woozy, waft-y, fuzzy, dreamy, drifting, gliding, swirling, swooshing, schmoozing? Brian Eno may have been right when he said My Bloody Valentine made the vaguest music ever to be a hit, but as the band's recent victory lap proves, it's also the most timeless. On their debut, Toronto, ON duo Beliefs worship at the same blazing altar; it's the transcendent sound of a group with amps plugged into overflowing hearts. Indeed, despite channelling their influences through the steamy pipes of nostalgia, songs like "Dead Water" and storming high point "Strangers" are nonetheless clear of ambition — they're pleasantly evocative, but never derivative or dull. The fact they wrapped up the final recording over a year prior to the release is nothing to lament. In fact, it might suggest a few more appropriate adjectives: "mature," "well-crafted," "robust" and "enchanting" being the first ones that come to mind.