Naut : "Hunt"

 I have been looking forward to this when I first heard "Unity of Opposites" . I am normally skeptical of bands who use drum machines rather than live drummers, as it is hard for them to capture the full range of dynamic. The guitars largely compensate for this. While they are on the more goth side of post punk, they are very driving and do not bask in the dramatics . Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim could all be cited as their influences , due to the vocals, which are at an edgy croon. The music is punchy and at times thanks to the choruses  gets pretty anthemic.  Their energy keeps me from focusing on the drum machine. 

One of the the things they have going for them, is most post-punk revival bands do not have this kind of power in their attack. It is not mistake these guys got signed to Season of Mist as while they are not metal, there is a heaviness to they do that will cross over into metal audiences. The drums sound pretty real on parts of the second song. I let this record play throughout the afternoon, and due to the sound alone, it was easy listening since there was something familiar to it that fell in line with what I normally listen to. Digging back into the album to write the review I was listening with ears trying to measure their merit as songwriters. Three songs in I am pretty convinced , though I am hoping for more in the way of dynamics. The croon of the vocals gets more melodic and sardonic on "Damocles". The guitar has a Cure-ish ring to it , and the bass occupies a similar space in the sonic spectrum.

It is hard to believe at times this is not a long lost album from the early 90s I some how missed back in the day. "8 in 3" works best thanks to the dreamy guitars. It launches into some pretty hard rocking at times, that has more of a Killing Joke feel. This Killing Joke feel also haunts "Unity of Opposites" . "Nightfall" is more upbeat, though not grooving enough to be called dancey. "Watchers' gets more driving, but it also comes back full circle to sound like the first song, until the verses break down a little more. I will give this a 9.5, in many ways this is defined by the sum of it's parts and the influences that make those up but this album is also a great deal of fun.