Videotape may be a shoegaze band, but they can hold their heads up high when they talk about their new album Underwater Weather. Released a couple weeks ago, this is the band’s second full-length album, and a giant leap forward musically. I liked Don’t Disconnect just fine, but here they seem to have cracked the code on what their “sound” should be.

There’s a cohesiveness to Underwater Weather that you don’t often find on DIY releases. They later instruments on top of one another, but nothing ever feels out of place or unnecessary. The songs are crafted with laser precision, so nothing goes on longer than is needed-Underwater Weather is a model of efficiency if nothing else.

My favorite track is “Beaches,” which comes pretty late on the album (7th of 10 tracks). It’s a trippy piece of pop/rock featuring some droning guitar and harmonies that melt into one another like Modern English. The lyrics are minimal, but delivered by singer Sophie Leigh they sound like the most important words in the universe.

You can pick up a limited edition tape of Underwater Weather on Videotape’s bandcamp page. If you’re not into cassette’s (I don’t blame you), you can also follow that link to download a digital copy. No word yet on when the album will be released in pog form.