*** Southpacific

CONSTANCE

(Turnbuckle)

It's a good thing this Toronto trio stopped looking for a singer. With so many beautifully sculpted soundscapes already speaking with such eloquence, there would have been no room -- or need -- for idle chatter. Besides, when there's so much terrain to explore, and you're already so blissfully lost, who wants a voice calling you home?

On their full-length debut (following the self-released, Canadian-issue-only EP 33), Southpacific weave a spectacular spell of trance-inducing instrumentals that sound not so much like songs as like epic lullabies. At times, the band recall the oceanic guitar-driven undertow of old UK shoegazers like Ride or My Bloody Valentine; at others, they conjure the stealthy precision and noise-pop roar of their labelmates Bailter Space. But there are also moments of exquisite tenderness and delicacy here. On "Parallel Lines," a pulsing bass line and a ride cymbal are nimble partners moving the melody forward into a moody frontier marked by gently swirling guitars and oscillating loops. Elsewhere, the hovering majesty of "Analogue 9" builds and bleeds like a 4AD daydream into the pastel-fuzz flashback of "Round (Forget What You Feel)."

-- Jonathan Perry