They Are Gutting A Body Of Water - LOTTO

LOTTO, the fourth studio album from They Are Gutting a Body of Water (TAGABOW), captures the sound that made the band a prominent force in the American underground. Menacing riffs, soaring leads, wailing distortion, and in a world of automated robo-calls and pervasive AI content optimized to keep us scrolling, LOTTO is an attempt to capture the sound of four human musicians in a room. LOTTO is undoubtedly a live record on tape. A “touching of grass”.

Hailed by Stereogum as “the most important band in modern shoegaze,” TAGABOW made their name approaching the genre with an experimental edge. Their live show incorporates EDM interludes, drawing on influences like ’90s drum & bass and N64 soundtracks. The band performs on the floor, purposely facing each other. No matter what chaos erupts in the mosh pit around them, TAGABOW looks inward.

Their first studio LP since Lucky Styles - a 2022 release acclaimed by the likes of Post-Trash, who noted that “TAGABOW remain one of the most unique and compelling bands in underground music” - LOTTO surfaced from Dulgarian’s self-imposed challenge to put his guitar first. “I just wanted to strip all the shit back,” he says, referencing the Lucky Styles’ abundance of digital production. “All the plugins, the pedals, the vocal effects—everything about it. I just wanted to make a fucking record where the riffs really get stuck in your head.”