New video out from Sacramento dream pop quintet Soft Science, for a track called Without, taken from their fifth album Sand (out since 4 September on Shelflife Records in North America and Spinout Nuggets over here). It's a song about letting go – singer Katie Haley says it's "built around a lyric that is both simple and quietly expansive: there are things I do without, there are things that I can be without," and she's been thinking about what she lets take root in her mind for the sake of her own mental health. I really like the arrangement on this one – it feels very instinctive, and every part is there to support the song rather than fight for attention. It all hangs together really well, and it's beautifully judged too.
The video was made by Italian director Francesca Bonci, who's worked with the Dandy Warhols and Slowdive's Rachel Goswell among others, mixing dreamlike imagery with breakdancing silhouettes. Guitarist Ross Levine suggested the breakdancing idea himself, which is a nice change from the usual band-performance video.
Soft Science have been going since 2011 and this is their most focused record yet according to the press notes, with reversed guitars on a couple of the tracks for good measure. They were also namechecked on Sound Opinions' shoegaze episode back in August.
Sand is out now on CD, vinyl and digital.