If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Brian Karlsson One thing the 2020's have provided are wildly new takes on shoegaze, and no one has put their own spin on the genre like They are Gutting a Body of Water. The Philadelphia band's latest single, "rl stine," is an explosion of sound, sometimes simply loud and others completely disjointed. It sweeps you up in a wave of fuzzy noise and then crashes you down into its devastating power. If heavy shoegaze is a current genre, "rl stine" destroys that very concept with volume and abrasiveness. There's a lot of crossover fandom between shoegaze and hardcore, and TAGABOW are the rare band that lands on both sides of that equation. Band leader Doug Dulgarian says of his band's latest single: “There is a guy who I see every day near my house. I always buy him a pack of Newport hundreds, knowing full well that he will trade it for crack. I wonder sometimes if it’s the addict in me, enabling the addict in him, or if I just fully understand h...

Photo by Brian Karlsson Philadelphia shoegaze heroes they are gutting a body of water (aka TAGABOW) are known for eschewing your standard shoegaze rules to create their own thrilling sound. Their latest single, "the chase," might be their most traditionally shoegaze song yet, but of course that's always relative. The new single is a heavy version of the genre, built more for moshing than chinstroking, but that wall of heavy sound and fuzz will still blast you back once "the chase" starts. Lyrics aren't typically the focus with this still of music, but the song features a gripping spoken word story of songwriter and guitarist Douglas Dulgarian's account of relapsing. TAGABOW are reinventing a decades old genre, and we're thrilled to be on this journey with them. Douglas Dulgarian says of his band's latest single: “It’s hard. In no way do I want to glorify drug use. I want to make it clear that attempts to escape yourself leave you yearning for a f...

Photo by Brian Karlsson We talk a lot about how much of modern music is without a genre, but no one exemplifies that quite like They are Gutting a Body of Water, aka TAGABOW. The band's new single, "trainers," is going to mostly be considered a heavy shoegaze song, but that barely scratches the surface of their sound. They've nailed the loud/quiet/loud thing perfectly, and the song starts off more as a slightly off-center indie rock song before the wall of noise and fuzz barrels over you. If that was the only sonic change up in the song, it would still be a great track, but TAGABOW also adds in interesting little samples and electronic noises after a killer guitar solo that defies everything we know about shoegaze. "trainers" is a good one that will demand multiple listens to make sure you've taken it all in. Singer Doug Dalgarian says the new single is  “... a vignette, a day in the life; desiring something wholesome while still grappling with the reali...