“I used to be obsessed with being super-clean… Then I realized that was really boring”: Far Caspian made one of this year's best indie records, and he did it by paring down guitar layers (from “40” to three) and embracing dirt

Far Caspian performs onstage at Seven Grand in Austin, Texas on March 14, 2023.

Press play on First Day, a standout from Far Caspian’s phenomenal new album, Autofiction, and you’ll have a couple of reference points, if you’re coming in cold.

The jangling guitars and obscure atmosphere’ll be music to the ears of those partial to early R.E.M., the spider web layers of the former instrument a selling point for anyone with a taste for shoegaze.