Acquiescence

They're a million miles from the lush and blissful shoegaze of their debut. This sounds more like tuneless lo-fi.

I think this is the first album I've ever listened to by a Peruvian band and what do you know - it's a stone-cold classic. These kids came out of nowhere and released a shoegaze essential. It's a gorgeous, gothic, gargantuan-sounding trip and I'm so glad I found it.

This album is so good that it brings me back to 2003 when I discovered The Remote Place and listened to it relentlessly. Idlewild (the album) is lean, tight and loaded with tunes. The band sound rejuvenated.

Flat vocals, gorgeous guitars. The guitars seriously do all the heavy lifting. Did I mention how good the guitars are?