There’s good songs on Raise, but they’re severely weakened by some of the worst production of all time. Raise sounds like it was recorded inside of a tin can, and mixed with a mixing board also made out of tin cans. The vocalist sounds like he just got home after a hard day working at the tin can factory.

There’s lo-fi, and then there’s no-fi. Nothing can escape the production job to grab your attention, which is a shame, because you can see there’s some great melodies swimming around at the bottom of this tin can-polluted ocean. Don’t get the remaster, as it somehow manages to sound even more muffled.

A muddy, distorted sound is characteristic of shoegaze, sure, but it usually has power to it, and the giant mess transforms into something unique. Raise is different, like everything was just poorly recorded without intending to. Budget problems. All instruments at too equal a level. Weak. I could go on. If you’re a shoegaze fan, I’d still recommend Raise, as it’s above-average, but I prefer the next two albums by Swervedriver.