The fourth album from this amazing band out of Chicago. The opening track is an instrumental that drones with a trippy vibe that carries exotic chord phrasings that make you feel like the drugs are already kicking in. There are lots of well-layered sounds that sit in a much darker place than what you expect from psychedelic music, which is perfect for me. This perfection multiplies when they stop jamming around a get into the swirl of their songs which finds an androgynous tenor vocal weaving melodies around this. The music creeps more often than not, and they do not forget they are more of a doom metal band and remember to pack the big crunching riffs. This is doom but without any Sabbath worship.
"Reversal" comes to life with a slower creep to life. The narcotic throb focuses most of its intent on hypnotizing you. "Stasis" finds them crunching down with a sludge-like weight. What is interesting is how vocals change everything here. If this was another lumberjack grunting, it would sound more like everything else, but with these more androgynous vocals, it creates its own space. The atmosphere takes over "Faded and Fleeting" with the sax that comes in being a cool touch to help ground things from floating off into the ether.
A darker intensity is cast over "Webbed Roots" which lingers somewhere in the space between a steamy shoe gaze and doom. Here doom is a cloud building into the storm, rather than the overt crunch. The guitar works off an almost Cure-like tone. Given my tastes, I of course am all about that sort of thing. Though at the three-minute mark, I am wondering where this can go for another five minutes. The ambiance takes over the momentum. It builds up in a manner that is consistent for these guys. However, I can say when I leave this album on and just let it play, it is hard to tell when it has started over, as the last song ends where the album begins. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me, one of my faves this year so far.
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