The Town With Bad Wiring

Review from lipmag!
When I started listening to the Upsidedown’s The Town with Bad Wiring for this piece, I immediately thought of shoegazing. I often think that bands who pursue shoegaze music today are ridiculed for trying too hard to be ironic. The other classic criticism is that the music all sounds the same. This is generally true of any sound musical artist, but shoegaze music bears the brunt of the critique because the majority of the sound is low-fi and has a background-music element to it. But, I guess I’m a classicist in that I believe in shoegaze. The genre deserves more respect than that; it is a cornerstone in indie rock.

Luckily for Portland-based the Upsidedown, their expert combination of shoegaze, psychedelic 60s rock and blues is music to everyone’s ears. The band has had several songs appear on highly-rated television shows and are currently signed to the Dandy Warhols’ record label, Beat the World Records, as well as Reverb Records: the home of their newest release, The Town with Bad Wiring, released on 28 September.

The album progresses through multiple genres while still maintaining a shoegaze focus, which is both interesting and refreshing to hear. The first few songs, “Something Good,” “Your Sister’s Cool” and “La Paloma” really recall both the styling and the moodiness of bands like My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain. With the mellow-but-rocking vibe, the incorporation of many different sounds, the partial instrumental breakdowns and the layered vocals, I could be in England in 1991.