Lockstep : "I Know What I Saw"

 

This Nashville-based band nails the shoegaze sound, which is apparent from all the key elements being in place. The reverb warble of guitars and the breathy coo of the vocals, but just dialing in a sound is no feat, so how are their songs? This is the question that really matters. The first two songs show they are not afraid of their distortion pedals, but it's the indie rock groover mixed with a narcotic pulse on "Tilt of the World" that sells me on what they are doing. This album does sound great through headphones, so they have taken great care in capturing these songs in the studio. 

They back off into a dreamier haze with "Soft Gauze of Time," and they bring in a dynamic shift and very deliberately chug up some power chords to contrast how the song opened. The guitar players have a decent sense of melody and carry the weight when the vocals get lost in the mix. I think the whispery vocals will get old for me before the guitar tones. They are smart to keep the songs all under the four and a half minute mark, rather than sprawling everything out into a drone. 

"Dog in the House of Plenty' is nap-inducing even with the sonic heft of the bass and the guitars' more feed back biting tones. For fans of shoegaze, we have to not just settle for what we have heard done before, as this is what separates quality from quantity. Thankfully, they give things more space with the bass line to "Half Measures". It is a little darker and does not rely on drifting in the same clouds. There is a slight angular swagger in the verse riff. 

They are going in a heavier direction with "Solvent Sound", it is a subtle shift, but it works, as the drums give more of a punch in their accents. The syncopation the bass line creates works well and gives the guitar more room.. They jam out the fade-out ending of this one. The last song, "Return" is the first one that actually legit rocks out. By rock out, it's in a doomy way. I will give this album a 9, as they carve their own place out in this genre that is becoming overcrowded in 2026, but they earn a spot. Dropping July 24th on Profound Lore. 

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