The euphoric rush of "Love Comes in Waves" sounds every bit like what fans might expect from
Andy Bell
's first proper solo release. As co-leader of shoegaze legends
Ride
and a latter-day member of
Oasis
-- not to mention the post-
project
Beady Eye
-- the Welshman has remained a steady fixture of the U.K. rock scene since the 1990s, collaborating with numerous different artists, though never striking out on his own until now. A pleasing amalgam of propulsive uptempo shoegaze, misty psych-pop, and layered acoustic songwriting,
The View from Halfway Down
offers an attractive compendium of
Bell
's accumulated strengths. His 2019 emergence as the shadowy producer behind the electronic project
GLOK
preceded this more organic song-based release, though his affinity for tight rhythms and interesting textures cuts a through-line between both solo projects. As with opener "Love Comes in Waves," tracks like "Indica" and "Skywalker" are rich in melody and rippling guitar riffs that loop across a familiar-sounding shoegaze landscape which he helped pioneer in the early '90s. Most of the album's tracks ebb and flow in gently hypnotic swells, usually ranging between four and six minutes in length without outstaying their welcome. Elements of
's Brit-pop days with
Hurricane #1
and
are also present, but perhaps owing to
's 2015 re-formation and subsequent embrace of shoegaze by a younger generation, it's the dreamier side of his approach that dominates
The View
. Other standouts include the enchanting finger-picked "Ghost Tones," the hooky low-key pop of "Cherry Cola," and the ethereal
Spacemen 3
-esque "I Was Alone." ~ Timothy Monger