The post-punkers from Chicago are leaning into the darker times of today, which thankfully bring with them more shadow and tension this time around.. The guitar on the opening track rings out with a trembling melody, setting the stage for the brooding monotone of the vocals. Less punk and more thoughtful than Joy Division. In the collision of noise and atmosphere, you can hear how this was one of the albums Steve Albini worked on. It provides an interesting backdrop for the angular pulse of "Ordinary Voices".
There is some great drumming on this album. More of a Gang of Four life mood haunts "A Room". They keep things moving. Rather than settling for lo-fi sounds to be punk, there is a very dynamic production style that captures everything with dynamic clarity. Making this a great-sounding album. They kinda drone on the tense groove here. "Desire Path" is much darker and more sullen, with a great guitar tone that reminds me of early Cure. "Sometimes Only" has a burlier bass tone as the guitar dances around it in more indie rock fashion. It is a cool sonic sound that is created bordering on shoegaze as it swells, but is more focused on the sound than the song.
The last song is more like 90s slacker rock. The vocals are not as spoken but not sung either, and ride a tense bobbing pulse that makes me think of Fugazi. Things swagger off into a boozy, noisy jam.I will give this a 9.5, pretty solid, the last two songs are well done for what they are, but not what I like best about them, so that score is more for fans of the band, but this album is really well made.
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