It’s been eight years since Austin’s Letting Up Despite Great Faults has released a full album. That doesn’t mean they’ve been totally inactive: since 2014’s Neon they’ve released a sputtering stream of singles, EPs, and covers (including their hazy take on Robyn’s certified banger “Call Your Girlfriend”). But speaking as a musician, a full-length is a completely different beast than smaller releases. Just about anyone can cobble together four or five solid songs. Maintaining that level of consistency across a full album though requires far more skill. Not to mention the momentum a band might lose during a period of inactivity.

And in the case of IV, Letting Up’s confusingly-titled fifth album, it required more of lead singer/principal songwriter Mike Lee. In this sort of dreamy, sleepwalking shoegaze, it can be easy for songwriters to hide, letting their voices and lyrics hide under plumes of guitar noise and aesthetic conventions that value lyrical obscurity over clarity (someone please tell me what the Cocteau Twins are ever saying). But this time around, Lee decided to speak up, armed with the introspection that comes from both age and pandemic. The songs wrestle with loss, mortality, and holding on to love as the world falls apart around you.

That isn’t to say this is necessarily a heavy listen though. You can let this record wash over you without giving a single thought to the vocals and it would still be a rewarding listen. The bright, hazy wash of modulated guitars and poly synths is driven along by a punchy rhythm section, making for a sonic experience that’s as fresh as it is nostalgic. Sometimes, it even crosses over into electronica territory, such as on tracks like the brief instrumental “Curl,” which features a Wurlitzer and drum machine hand-claps.

But if one thing is for sure, it’s that Letting Up Despite Great Faults hasn’t missed a beat. This is the sound of a band that’s more focused than ever, delivering a record that’s equal parts blissful and pensive.

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