Belgian shoegazers Slow Crush try to sound as huge as love on Thirst

Formed in Belgium in 2017, Slow Crush merge shoegaze and noise pop to create a lush terrain for the serene, understated vocals of bassist and front woman Isa Holliday. Their first two records, 2018’s Aurora and 2021’s Hush , didn’t push the boundaries of those genres—their blissful atmospheres glowed with the requisite dreamy beauty, but the band seemed more interested in developing as songwriters. But Slow Crush’s new third album, Thirst (released last month on Pure Noise), aims to envelop the listener the way the band’s live show does—in a press release, Holliday says Slow Crush challenged themselves to create a sound that would enact the record’s themes of love and connection. The lush warmth of the earlier releases hasn’t gone anywhere, but Slow Crush also sink deeper into their