ALBUM REVIEW: LOTTO – They Are Gutting a Body of Water

LOTTO is the newest release from the Philly shoegaze outfit “they are gutting a body of water” (henceforth, TAGABOW). Released October 17, this newest project marks their latest since Lucky Styles, released in 2022 (oddly enough, their past 3 projects have been released on October 17th, 3 years apart). Their frontman, Doug Dulgarian, has been quite vocal on the album’s close connection to his daily experiences and how it presents itself as “my attempt to surface through a sea of false muck” (KERRANG). 

The project kicks off with “the chase” along with its heavy and atmospheric instrumental. Heavy “walls of sound” are briefly relieved with echoey melodies, only to return to the crushing intensity of shoegaze-y style riffs. The lyrics feel almost haunting with their deadpan delivery while addressing addiction in the context of relationships. Dulgarian’s description of a partner witnessing another’s relapse as “the me she remembers, the promising mirage of water in this cruel desert,” still sticks in my brain like gum on the bottom of my shoe—certainly not the lightest of tracks (both sonically and thematically), but still an incredible opener.

Another favorite of mine off this project has to be “rl stine.” As a shoegaze fanatic, this track is ear candy of the sweetest order. The way that different tones are layered on top of each other gives this track such an interesting texture (especially how they achieve this nice blend of echoey and fuzzy tones during the verses to let the drums and vocals shine through). The heavy “wall of sound” portions feel perfectly executed, bringing incredible intensity without seeming gratuitous. I also love how Dulgarian draws upon frequent encounters with a man whom he always buys cigarettes for, knowing that he’ll likely trade them for drugs for lyrical inspiration (especially in the context of his own addiction). This track has so much depth and personality; it has to be one of my favorites on the project.

Immediately following “rl stine” is my favorite instrumental from the project, “slo crostic.” What I like about this track is that it breaks the traditional mold of a shoegaze track. You still get the signature distorted tones and riffs here, but there’s a notable emphasis given to the drums and bass, letting them all share the limelight. A lot of modern shoegaze seems to put so much emphasis on the guitars to the point that the rest of the instrumentation falls flat, but this track presents a lovely break from this formula. While I don’t think this track is earth-shattering, I think it serves its role well and avoids a common pitfall that irks me in the modern shoegaze scene.

The next track “violence iii” sits up with “rl stine” on my favorite tracks on this project. While I think it can be somewhat reductive that many shoegaze tracks/albums get compared to my bloody valentine, however, this track scratches a similar mbv-shaped itch for me. The sampling combined with the soft vocals during the verses combined with the crushing riffs during the choruses feel like something I would find off projects like Loveless. The transitions between the echoey plucked guitar sections and the distortion-heavy riffs feel so satisfying that I cannot help but stop and bask in them each time. As a shoegaze lover this track delights me to no end and is by far my favorite on the project.

Not every track on this record is a total hit for me, “BAESIDE K” being a perfect example. This track falls into a pitfall that a significant portion of modern “heavy” shoegaze acts fall into, namely, it lacks personality. The riffs just feel super generic and tire themselves out quickly without ever making much of an impact on the listener. TAGABOW does such a great job of layering sounds on previous tracks, but we don’t really see that here and instead just get this constant sound for the whole 3-minute runtime. It’s not the worst song I’ve ever heard, the problem is that it sounds like every other “heavy” shoegaze-revival track made in the past 5-10 years.

To bring this review to a close, TAGABOW is one of the more interesting shoegaze acts of recent years for their level of depth both lyrically and instrumentally. The vast perspectives and anecdotes that Dulgarian draws on for his vocals are harrowing and masterful. I love his ability to string together euphemisms and metaphors to relay some of the darkest parts of human experience. I loved how the group situated different tones and effects in their instrumentals to give each track a unique texture and flavor. A lot of recent shoegaze acts seem to neglect this point leading to a 40-minute album where all the tracks blend together, lacking any firm distinction between them. TAGABOW does well to avoid this pitfall (mostly), which sets this project apart from the current oversaturated shoegaze landscape. 

RATING: 8/10