Rule of Thirds : s/t

I have already heard one of these guys demos which did not have production quite as compelling as the sounds they have captured in what sounds to be a more proper studio. The guitar tone is incredible, the female vocals have dreary flirtation with Siouxsie , but seem to be more open to exploring other paths than many other bands from this scene. In short the band is beginning to find their own identity here. On "Cold Nocturn" the guitarist continues to establish themselves as the band's hero. The bass player is not too far behind. The singer has latched onto one element of Siouxsie's style and with all great singers they have more than one trick in their arsenal, which is what makes them great and every one else giving the most sincere more of flattery.

"Higher Forms" find the band getting more aggressive from every angle until they are dipping their pale toes into death rock. The guitar melody to "Fingerprints" takes on an older Cure briskness. Some of their more punk rock moments kinda blow by me with out a second thought. It;s their moodier sonic stuff that is the most compelling. they pick up the pace with the singers bratty sneer bringing a more punk feel to things. The bass playing takes on the familiar role that is needed by the instrument in this sort of thing. It has a decent driving tone. The chorus to "Pleasure Hive" finds them taking on more of a dangerous death-rock bent which comes from the ample punk influence. Like many of these rival bands the punk elements makes tis a tug of war between hyper bursts like "Red and Blue" to more serious brooding numbers that sound significantly more thoughtful by comparison. The closing song splits the difference and while it's not the albums best song works much better than some of the more snotty moments.

This is a much more focused and better quality recording than we have heard from them and hoping each album will have this kinda of growth. I'll give this one an 8.5, not sure It's something that would get a ton of spins on my end but if you are hungry for more new post-punk with female vocals then this is worth a listen.