You Said Strange - “Cold Crusader”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…DIIV, Hatchie, Pendant

You Said Strange find the warmer sides of shoegaze rock, instilling their 2018 debut Salvation Prayer with a unique indie/alt rock foundation in lieu of purely emotive drones and feedback. There is a consistent haze applied throughout Salvation Prayer, but if all the noise layers were pulled back, there’d be a tight, power pop unit hiding underneath. Still more dreamy than catchy, You Said Strange’s music is surprisingly natural for their fill-every-space approach, performing with mid-tempo comfortability and adding patience to psych-rock imagery. The French quartet take some paths off their main lane on Salvation Prayer including the Western haunts of “Leave the Lord” and the bilingual beach-pop jam “Tilelli”, but keep moving back towards their shoegaze core across the entrancing record. (Kevin McStravick)