Kels Taylor built Losem as a deliberate break from a background in classical music and folk rock, and "Hangnail," released October 16, makes that rupture audible. The single is dense, distorted, and loud in ways that have nothing to do with Taylor's origins, and the subject matter, self-sabotage, suits the friction. There is something fitting about writing on that theme over instrumentation that sounds like it is working against itself, melodic vocals pushing through an abrasive backdrop that never quite relents.
Losem has been a complete departure from Kels Taylor's roots in classical music and folk rock-- and they've never felt more themselves.
That contrast is the song's real argument. The vocals are clean and reverberant where the guitars are saturated and heavy, and the tension between those two things gives "Hangnail" its character. It sits somewhere between alternative rock and shoegaze without feeling like a genre exercise. Produced by Matt Bolton at his home studio from living room demos, the record carries a directness that survives the volume. This does not sound like an experiment. It sounds like Taylor figuring out what they actually wanted to say, and saying it at full force.
