"Torn" is largely the band jamming around a sustained tension. While the vocals are improved from the previous album and crooned with palpable melancholy, they do not really give the song structure but add another layer of sound. The winding spiral of the guitar lures you into "Wishbone". This finds the band stepping into the direction of progressive, not a huge surprise considering their previous album did not conform to what you expect from the sludge or doom genres. The chorus to "Wishbone" finds a hookier dynamic in place. The vocal layering to "Saviours Raft" slants the song in the Alice In Chains direction. Though unlike Alice in Chains it drones of a jam more than creating vocal hooks. They do build the song really well into a heavier pound, that is still not quite metal.
There is more of a hypnotic chant to "The Tide" which finds them highly effective at creating a mood, though it's more of a song to zone out to rather than an earworm you return to. "Hunger" is more brooding in its storm-building tension. The bass payer is the key to this here and in other songs, with a hefty tone that holds the backbone down. Even a simple strum is an effective blueprint for them to follow 'the Sleeper" combines the brooding grunge melodies with the pulse of early Pink Floyd's dark speculations. The last song is the album's most experimental moment rides an odd ambient groove. I will give this album a 9 it achieves what it set out to do here, which is create its own sound that is possessed by a surreal intensity.
pst194
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