Reviewed by Eric Saeger
This Lousiville noise-rock trio sound like a tank-led mop-up operation during wartime, depressing drone punctuated by metallic guitar stompings. They’re in line with the Temporary Residence stable insofar as comprising a dark yin to the moderately more agreeable yang of Explosions in the Sky, but this could have fit just fine in the Mute Records catalog circa 2008 – picture Liars as a more drone-centric band. It’s very new-jack, is what I’m saying, in spite of industrial memes that go all the way back to Einstürzende Neubauten, controlled assaults that sound disheveled but not cheap (the vocal qualities of ‘Lean on the Ghost’ have a hazy similarity to Alice n Chains). You’d catalog this somewhere between Neurosis and Ministry, near Cult of Luna but toward the more listenable side, a lot of anger but not hobbled by over-the-top forced-interest in ring outs and whatever other silly Sabbath-esque metal-du-jour might chum out to stroke Pitchfork’s fur this week.
Grade: A-
