“Willow” by She’s Green

The new single from Minneapolis’ She’s Green was brought to my attention by Eli Enis’ newsletter, which is an excellent source for the latest and greatest in the shoegaze scene. Enis is a bit indifferent towards the track: he’d prefer the band opt for “a dryer, dirtier palette,” and I can sort of see where he’s coming from. The danger with shoegaze is that it’s all too easy to make your music so blissed out as to be vaporous and inconsequential.

That said, I still think “Willow” is a short and sweet slice of ‘gazey pop from one of the scene’s rising stars. Zofia Smith’s lovely voice and nature imagery (“Let the seasons crawl/We can learn to start again”) is perfectly matched by Liam Armstrong and Raines Lucas’ guitars, which seem to be in direct competition to see who can out-chime the other. (Spoiler alert: It’s too close to call.)

She’s Green have yet to release an album, though they released the five-song Wisteria EP in 2023. But I’d like to think that the quintet is just biding their time and polishing their sound, as evidenced by “Willow,” such that if and when they do release a full-length, it could be something pretty special.