Cartwheel

This album has been added to 2 public lists:

• 

  2023

  James

  Cartwheel takes shoegaze textures and turns them into something warm, immediate, and weirdly uplifting. The guitars are huge and blurred together, but the songs themselves are tightly constructed and full of sharp melodic hooks. “Protocol,” “I Thought You’d Change,” and “Beauty Filter” hit because the emotional core stays clear underneath all the distortion. The album understands that loud guitars work best when paired with vulnerability rather than abstraction. It’s immersive without becoming sleepy or overly atmospheric. Few modern guitar records balance heaviness and sweetness this naturally.

• 

  Best of 2023

  Jason Dettbarn