Timelost Present Entrancing Heavy Shoegaze/ Grunge On Formidable Latest Record

Timelost, a Philly-area group, deliver a stirring musical portrait of loss and longing on their new album Gushing Interest, which is available now via Church Road Records.

The group performs driving yet shoegazey rock that feels formidable while carrying an air of self-contemplation. It’s intense and sometimes a bit noisy — and it’s always emotionally poignant.

Timelost’s emotive tunes are largely rather breezy, but there’s still a good deal of force in the sound, as though a breeze on a sunny summer day is slowly picking up into something more intense. The music feels rather beefy, and at moments like the album’s second track, “Deep End of the Cut,” the band’s heavy edge occupies the spotlight — but Timelost always sound nicely smooth. They’re not oppressive or confrontational — instead, the consistently solid rhythms feel warm and inviting.

Some of the particularly smoothly driving components of the record give Gushing interest a feeling of subtle brightness. As the rhythms move easily ahead, the music feels chill — there’s a friendly and rather communal energy in the sound, like sitting around and chilling with some friends.

The rock foundation of the band’s sound sometimes feels intense, but it’s never particularly overpowering. Rather than leaning into a sort of heaviness-focused presentation, Timelost sound more meditative, like their music captures a feeling of stopping amidst a bustling environment and pondering the (literal or figurative) path. There’s definitely some tension in the journey, but there’s also a permeating wave of tranquility.

Most of the group’s tempos are on the middle to lower end of the spectrum, and there’s sometimes a kind of mournful feeling, which feels pronounced at moments like some of “T.K.O.” The foggy sadness feels restrained, though, and it doesn’t completely cloud the journey. Instead, even during the slower pace, the music — like life itself — moves along. The music definitely doesn’t feel totally light — there’s a fair bit of weight here in the sometimes rather fuzzed out and sometimes rather heavy tones — but Timelost also definitely don’t sound particularly stuck, and this feeling of getting un-stuck feels quite accessible.

There are a lot of subtly entrancing dynamics on the record, from the smooth swings between grungy heaviness and contemplation on album opener “Better Than Bedbugs” to the brisker and particularly drum-focused “Alone, Clean, and Slow.” The songs all feature mellow but rather forceful singing, giving the album an extra personal touch.

5/5 Stars

Listen to Gushing Interest below! The album is available now from Church Road Records.