Letting Up Despite Great Faults

Originating from Los Angeles musician Michael Lee, Letting Up Despite Great Faults channels classic dream pop influences through an affectionate post-'90s blend of chorus-heavy guitars and gentle recessed vocals, occasionally incorporating New Order-evoking basslines that appeal to dance-oriented listeners. Following the eponymous 2009 debut album, the group issued Untogether in 2012 and Neon in 2014 before returning in 2022 with the higher-fidelity yet still giddy IV.

Lee developed his skills through childhood piano lessons while absorbing acts such as Orbital and the Chemical Brothers, then established Letting Up Despite Great Faults in 2004. After completing several demo recordings, the project delivered the seven-song EP Movement via L.A.'s New Words Records in 2006, which garnered blogosphere praise and placed the track "Disasters Are Okay" on the series One Tree Hill. Late in 2009, Letting Up Despite Great Faults put out its self-titled full-length on New Words, an album Lee captured at home using Ableton Live after only recently mastering the software. Although Lee performed most instruments himself on both releases, he enlisted bassist Kent Zambrana and guitarist Patrick Staples, along with vocalists Lorealle Bishop, Rachel Koukal, and Amy Izushima for the LP. Mastered by veteran engineer Jeff Lipton, known for his work with Magnetic Fields, the album attracted further notice across online music circles, and Letting Up Despite Great Faults—performing live with Lee, Zambrana, Koukal, and guitarist Chris Gregory—kept appearing at venues throughout their native California. The EP Paper Crush surfaced in August 2011.

Following a move to Austin, Texas, the band's self-released second full-length Untogether appeared in late 2012, solidifying the lineup of Lee, Zambrana, drummer Daniel Schmidt, and keyboardist/vocalist Annah Fisette. The quartet returned two years afterward with Neon, which expanded Fisette's vocal contributions. The EP Alexander Devotion came out in 2017; a Japanese edition on Rallye added five previously unreleased bonus tracks.

Ahead of the group's fourth album in 2022, Lee chose to refine his recording approach by retaining layers yet reducing emphasis on synths and extra filters while positioning vocals more prominently. IV emerged that March.