I don't mean to give Deftones all the laurels for how this sound fusion works. Around The Fur and White Pony are seminal albums that forever changed the course of alternative music, and their relevance to this day is not to be understated. Of course, that didn't come in a vacuum, with a more metallic take on shoegaze appearing in different shapes in the music of bands like Hum, Smashing Pumpkins, or Coaltar Of The Deepers, but I remember having covered this exact type of sound again and again and again, and each time it was one band that it brought to mind before all others. That might say more about the omnipresence of their sound rather than the actual direct influence they've had.
But still, each time, each of those aforementioned bands had some unique way to twist on that sound. Love Is Noise is no different. And the best way to describe it is that it is pushing towards both extremes, the more mellow shoegaze, and the more intense metal. Though, the former more than the latter. A lot of the album is drenched in those guitar feedback walls-of-sound that are so specific to shoegaze, with the more melodic side of the vocals making the alt rock occasionally border on dream pop and britpop. In a way it makes To Live In A Different Way more of a metallic alternative rock album, with plenty of the songs having a ballad-like quality to them. Cameron Humphrey's vocals are expressive, and the fact that he can croon in a way that doesn't immediately bring Chino Moreno to mind does work in the band's favor to avoid sounding to much like a single influence.
The more metallic side of Love Is Noise did seem a bit more explosive on the Euphoria, Where Were You? EP, with plenty of heaviness here being left in the shoegaze specific wall of sound. There are explosive moments however, ones where the vocals get shriekier and the drums go blasting, in a way that should feel more akin to blackgaze, considering that that was the sound most often associated with the blend of shoegaze and metal, but somehow avoids sounding like that specific mix of sounds. I think To Live In A Different Way might have even more staying power if this side of their sound was further developed, as the more alt rock part of the sound is the one that does most of the heavy lifting. As it currently is, it reminds me a lot of Deafheaven's Infinite Granite, an album whose light / heavy splitting similarly made me feel the diminished heavy side, and Love Is Noise have less history and less diminishment.
There's a lot that is instantly likeable about To Live In A Different Way, and I think plenty of the songs here could end up being repeated listens for me. Love Is Noise have so far done enough to make sure they don't sound too much like any specific band, and they can write a great song. All that's left is polishing the versatility and their uniqueness to actually make an album that wows me as a complete product.
