In their single “Porcelain,” The First Eloi blend dystopian atmospherics with the sludgey production that has come to define the shoegaze genre, and make no mistake: the band does not blend genres or split hairs in this track. Instead, the song leans directly into the core tenets of shoegaze. Think My Bloody Valentine and, yes, Cocteau Twins, but with lyrics that could only be forged in the bleak political climate of 2026. In descriptions, the band notes that “we are getting closer to a future” imagined by H.G. Wells. And, yet, I cannot help but note that if this is a future that will continue to bring post-punk and noise veterans alongside an incredibly talented young singer, whose voice stands out amidst a sea of reverb-addled guitars, then that future might be a little less bleak than Wells imagined.
The song is built for repeat, making for a perfect backdrop to late nights and way-too-early mornings. Written in the throes of sleep paralysis, they sing, “They watch my skin turn into porcelain/ My eyelids drop when I lay down again/ Close my eyes.” Perhaps it is no coincidence, then, that the song itself sounds like a dream. Minor chords and dissonance abound, but the vocal lines float above them clear and controlled, resulting in a hazy, near-perfect shoegaze aesthetic that begins to capture what it feels like to be alive in this portentous moment–caught between nightmare and reality, the desire to wake up or fall asleep.
Written by SilenceKid
