Fifth album from Northern California's Soft Science, and "Sand" is a cracking mix of dreamy indiepop, post-punk and noisy shoegaze! Katie Haley's cool, ethereal vocals sit on top of chiming twin 12-string guitars, swirling synths and a rhythm section that gives the whole thing a proper kick up the arse. There's plenty of melancholy in these ten songs, but Soft Science never disappear into some endless shoegaze fog - the hooks are too damn good for that. Lush and noisy in all the right places, with guitars that jangle one minute and come crashing through the door the next. Great stuff for fans of melodic noise with a bit of muscle behind it!