When people look back on shoegaze, most will think of the usual suspects: My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Swervedriver, Slowdive, etc., while overlooking the contributions of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Ecstasy were/are a Prague-based band, who unfortunately do not gather the same big name recognition of those aforementioned bands, though they are certainly deserving of such praise. While the later Ecstasy records veer towards a more ambient sound, their debut record Sussurate was one hell of a noisy, dense, and lush record (ya know.. all those qualities that make us shoegazers salivate). The Isn't Anything era MBV influence is strong, but Sussurate has arguably an even noisier and dreamier sound. In fact, if MBV recorded an album between Isn't Anything and Loveless, it might sound something like Sussurate. Granted, they weren't the most original of the shoegaze groups, but Ecstasy's songwriting surpassed the vast majority of those other bigger name bands. "Swoony" is a track off of their 1992 release Sussurate. Play it loud.

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa - Swoony

-David.