Aiming – Sail & Wreck (Digital/CD/Cassette EP – Blackjack Illuminist Records)

British band Aiming released a four-track EP last year on Blackjack Illuminist Records and returns this year with a new release featuring another four tracks.
Aiming continues to draw on a range of influences, blending Shoegaze with touches of Dream-Pop. More than ever, the fuzzy guitar work creates a distinctive atmosphere that permeates all the songs. At times, especially when paired with the female vocals, it evokes a sense of melancholy.
Overall, the music remains subdued and dreamy, and Aiming delivers four enjoyable tracks, with the opening song standing out as the clear highlight. (Rating:7½).
Listen to “Our Voices At The Bottom Of The Ocean”:
About Aiming
Aiming is a band from York, UK, that describes its own sound as “scuzzy synthy shoewave from Yorkshire.” The project mixes Shoegaze and Dream Pop with Post-Punk and New Wave elements, built around fuzzed guitar textures and synth-driven electronics.
Aiming debuted with “The Legend EP” on 7 February 2025, a four-track release featuring “Brainiac”, “The Legend”, “At Sea”, and “Docile”, issued through Blackjack Illuminist Records. The band followed it on 20 March 2026 with the “Sail & Wreck” EP, again on Blackjack Illuminist Records, released on CDr and limited-edition cassette in Germany and containing the tracks “Our Voices At The Bottom Of The Ocean”, “First At The Accident”, “Shit In The ’80s”, and “Sail & Wreck”.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
