Is there a single month where jangle pop is more imperative than it is in January? Out from Underneath is the title of the sophomore album from Montreal quartet Prism Shores, and that's exactly what it feels like I'm trying to do at this time of year: hoist myself up and away from the dredges of the long greyscale days.
As much as I love this genre and its incomparable melodic ability to help you float out of the abyss, you might say that trying to recapture the glory of C86 can, at times, get slightly repetitive. This is not the case with Prism Shores, who make good on their rainbow-refracting namesake with many different hues, like the high-paced shoegaze shimmer of "Overplayed My Hand" and "Holding Pattern," the slowcore melancholy of "South Paw," and the distortive crush of "Sudden Sting."
Out from Underneath's best attempt at C86 magic is from the mixtape-like quality of the band's varying — yet impeccably cohesive — takes on the sound, demonstrating all the different ways we might shift our perspectives to find light eclipsing the darkness.