Austin-based shoegaze group Letting Up Despite Great Faults have returned to the limelight as truly changed creators. Marking the four-piece band’s first full-length album in eight years, IV investigates personal narratives around growth, loss, regret, and renewal. The process required more of Lee, as the principal songwriter, he says:
I think when you search deeper, and you’ve had more life experiences, there is maturation from which to pull. But hopefully, the creativity feels a little bit richer. I don’t want to say IV is necessarily darker than our previous work, but I think there’s more of an awareness of mortality, the mortality of everyone else. You reflect more about the people you love, why you love, how long you love.
Sonically, the group’s sound has previously explored a more aggressive, forward-leaning approach, wherein Lee elected to break the shoegaze/indie-pop hermetic shield of synths and filtering. Their newest 10-track studio album leans into a more vocally-driven approach from Lee’s “instrument.”
From the cascading melodies and chilled-out tones of “Corners Pressed” to Lee’s gorgeous vocal swells on “Gemini,” and much more, IV sees Lee realizing the agency of his voice, thrusting it forward, where it was once “an instrument” in Letting Up‘s gauzy yet layered expanse of sound.
Stream IV in full, and watch the accompanying music video for “Corners Pressed,” below.