A dramatic pivot into shimmering shoegaze and crystalline dream pop. Lush, reverb-soaked textures that trade harsh screams for melodic, breathy vulnerability.
It's like if a black metal band decided to make a record for staring at the stars on a beach.
A shimmering, nocturnal meditation that trades fury for a vast, melodic yearning.
Infinite Granite marks the most significant stylistic shift in Deafheaven's career, moving away from the 'blackgaze' sound they helped popularize with Sunbather. Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen (known for his work with M83 and Paramore), the album prioritizes clean, melodic vocals and intricate guitar interplay over the shrieks and tremolo picking of their past. Recorded at Atomic Garden East, the album retains the rhythmic complexity of drummer Daniel Tracy but places it within a lush, dream-pop framework. Critics noted the influence of Slowdive and Cocteau Twins, praising the band's ability to translate their emotional intensity into a more accessible, yet still deeply atmospheric, sonic palette. The album's structure is largely melodic until the final track, 'Mombasa,' which serves as a bridge back to their heavier roots, suggesting that this departure is an expansion of their sound rather than a total abandonment of their origins.
Put this on for
Headlights cutting through coastal fog at midnightWatching the tide pull back over jagged rocksThat specific weightlessness when the fever finally breaksBlue hour shadows stretching across a quiet living roomStaring at the ceiling while the fan hums a low CFinal mile of a long run as the sun dips below the horizonSolitary train ride through a landscape of grey concrete
Moments worth waiting for
The transition in Mombasa where the shimmering dream pop suddenly collapses into a frantic, blast-beat driven black metal finale.
The interlocking guitar melodies in The Gnashing that feel like light refracting through a prism.
George Clarke's transition from a breathy, vulnerable croon to a soaring falsetto during the climax of Shellstar.
