9 years after their inception in their Leuven hometown, Belgium’s nu-gaze (think alternative-rock meets heavy pop meets shoegaze meets post-whatever) heavyweights Slow Crush hit a new peak with their most immersive, inventive record yet.
Slow Crush have never been strangers to balancing bliss with abrasion, but on ‘Thirst’ – their third full-length and first for Pure Noise Records (Cloud Nothings, Knocked Loose, Samiam, Year Of The Knife…) – they push that contrast further than ever. The Flemish quartet sharpen their fog-drenched shoegaze into something more dynamic, more unpredictable, and unmistakably their own.
The band’s trademark glow is still here: Isa Holliday’s ethereal vocals drifting like smoke above towering guitars, rhythms that feel both tidal and tectonic, and a sense of melancholy that hums beneath every note. But ‘Thirst’ refuses to settle. Subtle rhythmic shifts, sudden drops in pace, and left-field instrumental touches (yes, a saxophone makes a beautifully ghostly appearance) signal a band confident enough to break their own rules.
Rather than simply adding heft or polish, Slow Crush channel a deeper emotional weight — an exploration of longing, disconnection, and the fragile physics of modern relationships. Their sound swells and contracts like breath, pulling listeners into a dream-state where beauty and chaos coexist. When the noise hits hardest, Holliday’s voice floats through it like a guiding light; when the ambience softens, the tension never fully disappears.
By the time ‘Thirst’ reaches its final, sky-cracking crescendo, it’s clear Slow Crush have carved out something rare: a shoegaze record that feels intimate and cinematic at once, heavy without relying on tropes, dreamy without drifting into haze for haze’s sake.
In a year packed with standout releases across the genre somewhere between Deftones, Holy Fawn, My Bloody Valentine, Nothing, SOM and Whirr, ‘Thirst’ rises above the noise with vision, vulnerability, and a willingness to experiment in all the right places.
If you’re searching for a record that hits the heart as hard as it hits the senses, Slow Crush have delivered.
Stream Thirst below — it’s their most compelling chapter yet.
[Picture by @stefaantemmerman]