Tearwave had produced a debut album that pointed to greater things for subsequent albums from this NY band.  Immersed in the shoegaze music style of the ‘90s, which yielded a small handful of memorable bands, Tearwave took the best of Love Spirals Downward and other such bands and merged them with the dark, desolate ambient sounds of Lycia, whose music chilled the soul with their own brand of despair.  Tearwave formed a hybrid of those and their debut self-titled album was the extraordinary result.

On their second album, Different Shade of Beauty, Tearwave conjures 17 tracks of frozen ambient music with lyrics of despair and heartbreak, all convincingly voiced by the achingly beautiful vocals of Jennifer Manganiello.  But Different Shade of Beauty requires that you fall within its spell for maximum effect.  The music and the vocals are nearly one but that contributes to its ghostly sound.  It is as if you’re hearing sad voices in the blowing winter winds of dusk.  And indeed you are.

On “Holding On,” the combination of the icy walls of music created by Doug White’s amazing Cocteau Twins-like guitars, along with Jennifer’s wraithlike voice, the song elicits a sad emotional retreat.  The finalities of “Nothing Wrong” are magnificently expressed.  “Under the Milky Way” is one of the album’s best tracks in its simplicity.  It is a cover from The Church off their Starfish (1988) album.  You can sense the slight shift from Tearwave’s originals but it does provide another side of the band, one that can be explored at a later date.  Doug White’s guitars do wonders on all of the tracks, effectively producing atmosphere for Manganiello’s voice, while the rhythm section of Joe Villella (Bass) and John Stephanski (Drums, Percussion) paint the finishing strokes.

To crawl into the heartbroken soul of a one who has lost their trust in humanity and life is not something that is often attempted, much less successful.  Yet, that is just what Tearwave accomplishes with Different Shade of Beauty.  As in their first, Tearwave explores the inner heart with piercingly emotional lyrics and a wall of shimmering music yet accomplishing much more.  There is a cold and understanding purity of emotion within these songs that mourns the vast wastelands of loneliness and misunderstanding.

With Different Shade of Beauty, classic just got a whole lot closer.