Photo by Veronica Henderson

Steel Wool self-describe themselves as a shoegaze band, but in listening to the Los Angeles four-piece’s debut single, “Eyes Closed”, the most striking thing about their sound isn’t the tranquilizing effects their dreamscaped rock has on the senses, but rather that they’re bold enough to do something many of their peers within the scene’s new wave have thus far been adverse to doing for the sake of playing into aesthetic: putting vocals up front and over any and all blown out distortion. Sean Lissner’s voice is handsome and could easily suit up for aughts indie rock cosplay if he wanted, but instead, we hear him moving like warm butter as he melts over amorphous guitars and synthesizers waves, making this dream the kind of lucid one where details are so vivid, it’s feel and touch are a little too close to comfort. “Keep driving faster now / Eyes closed / I’m freaking out,” he sings. Instead of burying anxieties behind the haze, Steel Wool sit theirs right over its surface.

Steel Wool’s “Eyes Closed” single is available now on Bug Body.