GNOOMES

Gnoomes are a Russian group who use the term "stargaze" to describe their blend of Krautrock, shoegaze, and techno. Featuring driving motorik rhythms, pulsing electronics, and atmospheric as well as aggressive guitars, the group found a more widespread audience in Europe in the late 2010s after signing with the U.K.-based Rocket Recordings label. Following their first album, 2015's Ngan!, they incorporated trippy electronics and dance beats into their sound on subsequent efforts, like 2017's Tschak! and 2023's Ax Ox. The band formed in Perm in 2014, consisting of vocalist/bassist Sasha Piankov, drummer Pasha Fedoseev, and guitarist Dima Koniushevich, all of whom play synthesizers. Their first release was It's Moonbow-Time, Boy, a cassette EP released by Russian label Pikkalma Product in July of 2014. This attracted the attention of British psychedelic label Rocket Recordings (Gnod, Oneida, White Hills), which signed Gnoomes and released their debut album, Ngan!, in 2015. The band issued Repetitions, a split EP with Josefin Öhrn + the Liberation, in 2016. After touring England and appearing at the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia, Gnoomes released Tschak!, their electronics-heavy second full-length, in 2017. Prior to recording their third LP, the group became a quartet with the addition of full-time keyboardist Masha Piankova. A more immediate live approach colored 2019's Mu!, Gnoomes' third outing. Ax Ox, the band's first album sung entirely in Russian, appeared in 2023. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi