Teenage Wrist

Shoegaze for days

If your default reaction to world events is to envelope yourself in layers of warm, fleecy fuzz and hope it goes away, consider Teenage Wrist your new security blanket.

The LA trio share a common ground with the likes of Philadelphia’s Nothing in their blend of shoegaze, punk rock and pathos, but they produce a more diverse, brighter sound. “My chops are awful,” says guitarist Marshall Gallagher. “But I have a good ear for composition and layering parts, so I play to that strength. I’m a big fan of the wall of sound.” Modesty aside, Marshall’s a dab hand at a killer lead line – Swallow’s scything whammy solo cuts across the fuzz folds like a hot knife through butter – and we can already assert that debut album Chromeneonjesus (due 9 March) offers some of the year’s best distortion sounds.