Alien Boy Stretch Heartbreak Until It Glows on You Wanna Fade?

Portland’s third album expands the band’s dream-pop ache into something bigger, denser, and more cinematic

With synthesizers, drum machines, and three guitars orbiting Sonia Weber’s blunt emotional writing, the record makes desperation sound almost triumphant. I hear You Wanna Fade? as Alien Boy refusing to shrink their feelings to fit a tidy shoegaze template. The Portland four-piece’s third album runs 12 songs and 44 minutes, and it keeps widening its frame. Starting with the instrumental overture of “Scrub Me Clean” and then pushing into the bigger, more widescreen rush of “Changes,” “Cold Air,” and “Another Brand New Me.” 90s rock, alternative rock, emo, and shoegaze always worked as references points to Alien Boy but those reference points feel upgraded by synthesizers, drum machines, and a three-guitar attack that lets the songs expand and contract in real time.

For me, the album’s best moments come when Sonia Weber’s voice stays utterly unflinching against all that blur. “I Broke My World” and “Pictures of You” hit hardest because the writing is so direct it almost dares me to look away, while “Morning” and “You Want Me Too” add small textural details that keep the record from collapsing into pure wall-of-sound catharsis Alien Boy make the chase of heartbreak with reverb feel architectural.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Alien Boy on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist