Is there a renaissance going on? Have all of us shoegazer kids from the early nineties seen the light of day and made the conscious decision to revive the energy of that seemingly forgotten and mis-named subgenre? No. There is no such renaissance, but musicians who played a part in defining those heady days have matured. Now they seem to be returning to the fold to illustrate how they've grown, and to demonstrate what they've learned since a Fender Jazzmaster and a wall of feedback were an indie-rocker's best friend. Seana Carmody, formerly of seminal East Coast punters Swirlies and founder of the short-lived Syrup USA, reappears after four years of silence with this solo debut, and takes the first step towards the top of the indie-rock pile in this post-shoegazer world.

While other critics have noted that the sounds on Struts & Shocks seem to erase the output of the talented but misguided Syrup USA outfit formed briefly in 1997, the album is very much a hybrid of Carmody's previous sonic pursuits -- the layered dimensions of the Swirlies' sound fitted within the intelligent songwriting she refined while helming the prog-pop group that occupied her free time in the late nineties. Sweeping guitars, fitted with the prerequisite distortion and flange effects, propel each track forward, although it must be said that Struts & Shocks' dynamism is characterized by any number of shifting tempos and varying intensities of volume. The Breeders-meets-Helium aesthetic of "Mighty Bull" and "Tornadoes" is probably the most easily identifiable parallel with Carmody's contemporaries, and best describes her sound -- the edginess of the Deal sisters balanced by Timony-esque, half-whispered vocal delivery. To that end, it is Carmody's vocals that stand as the centerpiece of the majority of these compositions, their sweetness often masking the darkly romantic lyrical content and operating as a counterpoint to many of the decidedly aggressive, guitar-heavy passages. "Deirdre" marks the most obvious parallel with the Syrup sound, although it carries a maturity and focus that was seemingly lacking from much of Syrup's work.

In the end, though, it seems that the quiet type is always the best type. "Smoking In The Dark" is a Patsy Cline-styled ballad that meanders like the broken-hearted, silently going about its business with all the nonchalance of a sheepish school girl. It's Carmody's least complex arrangement, but the album's most touching and affecting track ("Wake up and tell me we're all right now that it's dark / Desperate night / Drive me crazy until tomorrow / Tomorrow is here / Tomorrow is today"). My obvious love for all things Swirlies notwithstanding -- and likewise my not-so-obvious disinterest in the Syrup years -- Struts & Shocks is the brilliant re-emergence of an artist whose contribution to the North American independent music scene has been grossly under estimated. Now that her extended break is behind her, let's hope that Carmody is prepared to take the next step in her hike to the top.