LOTTO by They Are Gutting A Body Of Water
78
ChoruScore
7 reviews
Established consensus
Oct 17, 2025
Release Date
ATO
Label
Established consensus Broadly positive consensus

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water's LOTTO arrives as a bruised, compelling statement that trades studio gloss for ragged intimacy, and critics broadly agree it delivers striking moments of sonic catharsis. Across seven professional reviews the record earned a 77.86/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing

Reviews
7 reviews
Last Updated
Nov 21, 2025
Confidence
89%
Scale
0-100 critics
Primary Praise

The best song is the opener "the chase" because its ruthless, explosive portrayal of addiction sets the emotional and sonic template for the album.

Primary Criticism

At the same time, some critics register missed adventurousness; The Skinny calls portions of the record competent but safe, arguing the band occasionally reins in the experimentati

Who It Fits

Best for listeners looking for addiction and desperation, starting with the chase and sour diesel.

Standout Tracks
the chase sour diesel herpim

Full consensus notes

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water's LOTTO arrives as a bruised, compelling statement that trades studio gloss for ragged intimacy, and critics broadly agree it delivers striking moments of sonic catharsis. Across seven professional reviews the record earned a 77.86/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to songs that turn addiction and melancholy into blunt, memorable rock. “the chase”, “rl stine” and “herpim” emerge as the clearest standout tracks, while “sour diesel” and “american food” score frequent praise for their textured hooks and unsettling production choices.

Critical consensus highlights LOTTO's collision of heavy distortion, lo-fi psychedelia and shoegaze/grunge fusion - an aesthetic that foregrounds rawness, confession and themes of drug struggles and death. Reviewers for Beats Per Minute, Pitchfork and The Quietus note the album's weaponised guitars and blunt lyricism, praising how “the chase” pairs sludgy spoken-word ferocity with melodic payoff and how “herpim” and “rl stine” land as emotional centerpieces. At the same time, some critics register missed adventurousness; The Skinny calls portions of the record competent but safe, arguing the band occasionally reins in the experimentation that made earlier work more unpredictable.

Taken together, professional reviews present LOTTO as a confident, often affecting collection that balances noise and beauty and confirms They Are Gutting A Body Of Water's DIY ethos. For those searching for a LOTTO review or wondering what the best songs on LOTTO are, the critical consensus points to “the chase”, “rl stine” and “herpim” as the tracks that best encapsulate the record's urgent mix of vulnerability and distortion, while debates about ambition keep the album compelling to dissect further.

Critics' Top Tracks

The standout songs that made critics take notice

1

the chase

6 mentions

"The powerful burst of “the chase”, a sludgy spoken-word rocker that concerns itself with the parallels between addiction and being in live, opens LOTTO with immense ferocity and attitude."
Beats Per Minute
2

sour diesel

3 mentions

"sour diesel” uses a chiming guitar tone to great effect, layering vocal lines and guitars on top of each other for a complex and heady composition."
Beats Per Minute
3

herpim

5 mentions

"In one of the most moving tracks, “Herpin,” a fragile electric strum meets up with an oddly nostalgic roller-rink organ."
Rolling Stone
The powerful burst of “the chase”, a sludgy spoken-word rocker that concerns itself with the parallels between addiction and being in live, opens LOTTO with immense ferocity and attitude.
B
Beats Per Minute
about "the chase"
Read full review
6 mentions
91% sentiment

Track Ratings

How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.

View:
1

the chase

6 mentions
100
03:25
2

sour diesel

3 mentions
100
03:50
3

trainers

4 mentions
83
02:45
4

chrises head

2 mentions
10
01:06
5

rl stine

6 mentions
97
02:30
6

slo crostic

4 mentions
57
02:19
7

violence iii

3 mentions
76
02:05
8

american food

5 mentions
100
03:11
9

baeside k

4 mentions
77
02:50
10

herpim

5 mentions
100
03:43

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What Critics Are Saying

Deep insights from 8 critics who reviewed this album

Critic's Take

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water arrive on LOTTO with an unforgiving, loud honesty that makes the best songs - “the chase”, “sour diesel”, and “rl stine” - land like confessions. The reviewer leans into the record's sick pleasure and critique, praising how the band turns addiction narratives into explosive, textured rock. In the voice of someone who has watched their growth, the piece highlights bright moments - the Ocarina-esque flutes on “sour diesel” and the aching riffs of “rl stine” - as the album's standout tracks. Closing cut “herpim” is framed as a triumphant landing, cementing why listeners search for the best tracks on LOTTO and the best songs on LOTTO alike.

Key Points

  • The best song is the opener "the chase" because its ruthless, explosive portrayal of addiction sets the emotional and sonic template for the album.
  • LOTTO's core strengths are its unflinching lyrical honesty, dynamic guitar textures, and confident, more polished production that elevates TAGABOW's songwriting.

Themes

addiction desperation anti-capitalism American life confession

Critic's Take

They Are Gutting a Body of Water's LOTTO feels like a lost shoegaze classic and the best tracks — notably “the chase” and “violence III” — carry that weight with brutal charm and melodic payoff. The reviewer revels in the album's retro-futurism and praises “the chase” for its sludgy spoken-word ferocity, while holding up “violence III” as possibly the most memorable cut thanks to its central riff and Brian Wilson-esque melody. Meanwhile, songs like “trainers” and “sour diesel” showcase fragile vocals and chiming, layered guitars that justify calling out the best tracks on LOTTO. The overall tone posits this as the band's most fully formed, digestible record yet, one that could break them into larger audiences.

Key Points

  • “violence III” is the best song for its memorable riff, melodic center and climactic noisy payoff.
  • The album's core strengths are its evocative 90s-informed shoegaze-grunge fusion and daring lo-fi psychedelic pop textures.

Themes

90s nostalgia shoegaze/grunge fusion addiction and melancholy lo-fi psychedelia

Critic's Take

They Are Gutting a Body of Water have crafted on LOTTO a bruising, inventive take on shoegaze that rewards repeated listens, with the opener “The Chase” and the closer “Herpim” standing out. The reviewer revels in the record's weaponised guitars and synth-fog textures, praising how “The Chase” turns to spoken word and how “Herpim” confirms the band know what their sound should be. Across the album the first three pieces, including “Sour Diesel”, are singled out for heavy, headbanging grooves and sudden dynamic shifts. This is a dense, restless record that pushes shoegaze forward while staying loyal to its noisy core.

Key Points

  • The opener “The Chase” is the best track because it turns to spoken word and exemplifies the band’s ingenuity.
  • LOTTO’s core strengths are its fusion of heavy, weaponised guitars with electronic production and a restless, DIY ethos.

Themes

shoegaze revival heavy distortion electronic production drug struggles DIY/indie ethos

Critic's Take

He also flags “American Food” for its road-trip swirl of sirens and hip-hop beats, and notes moments like “Trainers” and “RL Stine” where lyrical guitar beauty blooms before getting trampled by feedback. The review casts these songs as emotional high points that prove shoegaze still mutates and reaches forbidden zones of feeling.

Key Points

  • “The Chase” is best for its naked vocal narration and emotional confrontation with relapse.
  • The album's core strength is fusing industrial-strength noise with moments of lyrical guitar to create cathartic emotional highs.

Themes

addiction death sonic catharsis shoegaze revival noise vs beauty

Critic's Take

Doug Dulgarian’s They Are Gutting A Body Of Water record LOTTO feels like a bruised, brilliant short film, where the best songs - notably “baeside k” and “rl stine” - distill its mood. The review’s voice is clinical but moved, noting how “the chase” opens the record with stark, deadpan narrative before the album slips into the aching beauty of “rl stine” and the assaulting dissolution of “baeside k”. Tom Kingsley praises the band’s risky use of electronics, highlighting “american food” as a twisted pop success that shouldn’t work and yet does. In short, the best tracks on LOTTO are the ones that turn trauma into strangely compelling, hushed, and inventive songs.

Key Points

  • The best song is "rl stine" because its slow, layered guitars and inaudible lyrics create profound aching beauty.
  • The album’s core strengths are its raw emotional honesty and skillful fusion of shoegaze textures with electronics and sampling.

Themes

drug addiction anguish shoegaze and electronics fusion experimentation raw indie rock
74

Critic's Take

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water have never sounded more exposed than on LOTTO, and the review makes it plain why listeners will ask which are the best tracks on LOTTO. The writing singles out “slo crostic” as an instrumental standout for its loose, hooky finish, and it points to “the chase” and “rl stine” as the album's most affecting songs for their blunt, gut-wrenching lyricism. The reviewer’s tone is both admiring and unsentimental, emphasizing that these best songs work because TAGABOW traded plastic sheen for ragged, human urgency. Overall, this frames the best songs on LOTTO as those that reveal tenderness through simplicity and blunt clarity.

Key Points

  • The best song, “slo crostic,” stands out for its loose interplay and an undeniably hooky instrumental finish.
  • The album’s core strength is its stripped-back honesty, exposing tenderness through simpler, raw arrangements.

Themes

rawness vulnerability stripped instrumentation addiction hope

Critic's Take

The reviewer frames They Are Gutting a Body of Water's LOTTO as a competent shoegaze outing that often plays it safe, praising tracks like “american food” and “trainers” for retaining sparks of the band's earlier adventurousness. Joe Creely writes with a wry impatience, noting that “rl stine” sits among the album's more memorable moments but that much of the record feels like a band capable of more. The best songs on LOTTO - notably “american food” and “trainers” - are highlighted because they restore fried electronics and wrenching lead lines that hint at the group's unique instability. Overall the tone is appreciative but urging, recommending those specific tracks as the album's standout moments.

Key Points

  • The best song is best because it restores the band's fried electronics and adventurous instincts.
  • The album's core strength is competent, well-executed shoegaze that occasionally recalls their earlier adventurousness.

Themes

shoegaze revival straightforward execution missed adventurousness indie-rock comparison