Straddling dream pop and shoegaze, Californians (Sacramento, to be precise) Soft Science bring us a very delicate and enjoyable record titled “Sand“. The blend of melancholic dream pop and intimate emotional weight is typical of certain shoegaze offshoots, and it’s certainly one of this album’s strengths. Musically, one of the most successful moments comes when the guitar sound emerges with a line that adds depth to the sonic fabric, harmonising with a vocal performance that’s consistently delicate and seductively melancholic, without ever tipping into gloom or despair. Being the band’s fifth album, “Sand” follows 2023’s “Lines“, and Soft Science sound perfectly at ease weaving pop sensibilities into this sonic fabric, with “Spinning“, “Fade” and “Hope” (interesting choices for track titles, too!) standing out as the strongest points of this smart blend of dream pop, shoegaze and indie rock.
Sand (2026 – Shelflife Records / Spinout Nuggets)
