Delving in to the Philadelphia sludge, Kai Marshall explores TAGABOWs heart-wrenching heavy shoegaze LP LOTTO

There is so much to be said for the DIY attitude that permeates the Philadelphia music scene. The city’s contribution to punk music is immeasurable- a city whose heartbeat sounds like a hardcore punk record. Out of this city emerges yet another glorious collection of music which, owing to the underground scene as it does, attaches itself also to a wider tradition of alternative sounds. 

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water and its driving force Douglas Dulgarian utilise their experience of the Philadelphia scene to elevate their music on their latest LP ‘LOTTO’. Opening track The Chase stitches together Pigs Pigs Pigs’ crunching almost-metal noise with the ethereal My Bloody Valentine Loveless whine. This spoken word introduction ruminates upon Douglas’s relationship and reliance on both drugs and his partner. 

The MBV shoegaze sound is deployed throughout the album and is at times alternately celebrated and destroyed in a sumptuously heavy way that engages the listener with its contrasting beauty. Sour Diesel mixes Cobain-esque chops with a softer vocal. When one reads of a DIY band such expert songcraft is unexpected, yet it’s found on this track; it is the opposite of a hotchpotch of derivative loud alternative noise. 

Further displaying their ability to expertly blend genres, Trainers is a blend of the shoegaze sludge this album does so well with 80s-style jangle pop. Rl Stine returns to the grunge influences as well as conjuring Elliot Smith and Fugazi- two influences perhaps inevitable for a band like this.

The albums instrumental pieces Chrises Head and Slow Crostic provide room for musical experimentation beyond the dark and introspective themes of the album. Chrises Head sounds like a record being spun the wrong way, however an electronic choir hums out and practises its digital harmonies. Slow Crostic again recalls Fugazi with its bass-heavy stomp. 

Violence iii reminds the author of BDRMM and leans into the Jesus And Mary Chain tradition of lyrics that are difficult to decipher underneath the crashing wave of noise above it. Fans of either band will find this song a joyous listen. 

The three track sprint to the finish contains some of the albums highlights both musically and lyrically. American Food again utilises spoken word in order to convey Dulgarian’s experience of hardship and accumulated wisdom. “the benefit of believing you’re bad is that you get someone to blame” are words only the most tortured of souls could pen. 

Baeside K leans more towards college slacker rock than other tracks but again explores themes of love, death and addiction. Fittingly, album closer Herpim sounds like church bells, either wedding or funeral, although either way it would make an annoying 9am alarm. This track describes a plane ride that, despite paranoid fears of a botched landing, always gets to its destination eventually- artistically, it proves a great literary ending to a solid album. 

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All words by Kai Marshall. Find his authors archive here