...Fluidtrance Centauri...

While Czech band The Ecstasy of St. Theresa had already put some initial toes in the shoegaze-adjacent water with Susurrate, it was this subsequent EP — a formal release of one of the many famed John Peel radio sessions — which blew minds worldwide when word got around. The jaw-dropping majesty of the opening “Fluidum,” where stark, quiet sections were suddenly bookended by feedback/pedal heavy parts that felt like a listener was literally drowning, almost said it all, but “Alpha Centauri” and “Trance (Between The Stars)” continued the remarkable mood.