Album Review: Cement Diver - Stuck Inside the Mirror

Stuck Inside the Mirror  is the latest EP from Cement Diver - the project of San Antonio-based artist James Garcia - released in early January. It was written and recorded during what Garcia describes as the most difficult period of his life: his time in a rehabilitation facility in Houston, Texas.

The EP takes its name from one of the most quietly devastating songs on the record, and my personal favorite:

“Why can’t we talk about it later / When I’m put together / Maybe in December I’ll be feeling better.”

There is shoegaze, and then there is sad shoegaze; this EP transcends both, serving as a survival document. Through slow, heavy guitar riffs and mellow vocals, Garcia allows us to hear his sadness documented in real-time.

By the end of the record, I found myself soaked in Garcia’s grief and pain—and, strangely, grateful for it. From the grungy opener, “Rearrange Me,” to the final track, “Fallen Leaves,” which unfolds over nearly nine minutes into an unexpected, haunting catharsis, these six tracks represent a snapshot of a person’s deepest struggle.