Photo by Kasey Agosto

Nothing is ever really quite what it seems to be on the surface within the world view of They Are Gutting A Body of Water, but at other times, what’s on the surface might just be where you should be looking for the answer. Perhaps that’s the commonality within the craft between the Philly experimental shoegaze band and that of the young adult horror fiction author R.L. Stine, whose name gets checked this very astute Spooky Season in the title of the fourth single and opening track from the band’s imminent new album (and first since signing with major indie ATO Records,) LOTTO.

You might find it to be most peculiar how this listen assumes the outsides of today’s more contemporary heavy-gaze aesthetic. Guitars and Doug Dulgarian’s vacant vocals swirl a dead pool before a deluge of feedback floods in and blurs the view. The lead singer describes how it’s impressionistic, scattered words are about a guy he sees everyday by his house in Philly. “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 his struggle,” he said of the listen. “Perhaps we’re the same after all.” And there you have it, right down to the sound.

They Are Gutting a Body of Water’s LOTTO will be released October 17th on ATO Records / Julia’s War / Smoking Room.