It’s hard to think of this band naming something “Endless Light” when the music is so definitively dark, brooding, and in your face.

This, the third full length effort from the sludge-y post rock band, largely sticks to what the band knows best. But this cannot be understated: sometimes you know what to expect from a band, and are understandably stoked with each new record they put out – because you bought that record expecting a specific result, done so with superior quality.

Endless Light, like its predecessor Disillusion is more cohesive than Garden Window. While the absence of a two part piece (“Machines Part 1 and 2” from Garden Window) is still noticeable, I find myself minding a little bit less this time. The consistency of Endless Light borders on redundant at times, but the quality overshadows the familiarity.

By far the most catchy song of the record is “Deconstruct,” this album’s equivalent of “Lo,” yet a little less heavy and a little more poignant melody graces our ears this time. Hearing this song assured me that there would be no slump with this record, although the fact that the band avoided a sophomore slump. Each song is catchy in its own way, but none like “Deconstruct.”

As each song is catchy in its own way, so each song is a journey. Top notch vocals in “Bloodlines,” threaten to bowl me over as the deceptively simple drum beat backs those harmonies in the intro. “Black Holes” is the most emotional song on the record (though every song could be construed as such). The back end of the record seems to get progressively more foreboding, which is, as I mentioned earlier, sort of ironic given the album title.

Yet, cannot excessive light also be overwhelming? Even dangerous?

Endless Light isn’t dangerous, yet it seems to somehow be both triumphant and gloomy at the same time. The reason people will love this album is probably the same reason a lot of people love thunderstorms. Being in the presence of something massive is intimidating and thrilling.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvDrIbIOvPg[/youtube]

Score: 4.4/5

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