Written by Aly Maaño
How does one hold on to a moment that’s almost palpable but fleeting? How does one express awe in the face of something ethereal? Sometimes, words hold no meaning when the otherworldly presents itself in forms that make you hold your breath. Hailing from Davao, cosmic suns attempt to express these intangible feelings in their debut single, “Ethereal.”
In the world of shoegaze, pedals are tools for creating sensations that go beyond hearing. Cosmic suns know just how manipulate fuzz to achieve textured riffs that explode into microcosms of desire, longing, and turmoil. Their distorted guitars swirl and bend with other instruments while dreamy and distant vocals orbit around them like an invisible knot — connecting each conjured world into a single hazy soundscape. With these elements, “Ethereal” remains loyal to the genre. However, it finds itself treading into skramz territory as the chorus breaks into agonizing screams. But hearing a vocalist desperately screaming in a shoegaze track doesn’t break through the expansive wall of noise but merely complements its obscurity. Drenched in lush reverb and delay, the screams add a haunting effect that only intensifies the heavy emotions the song is channeling. When layered with clean vocals, the result is as visceral as a memory from years ago that leaves a lump in one’s throat. At this point, there’s no need to interpret; we must surrender willfully to the auditory frenzy.
Cosmic suns may still be protostars in the vast shoegaze universe, but they already formed the core of their sound in “Ethereal.” In their evolutionary stage, will they continue redefining the genre’s blueprint? For now, we can only watch as they traverse celestial distances one heavenly song at a time.
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