In an age when you can fine-tune a studio recording almost to the point of flawlessness, there aren’t many acts who would record an album live in a single take with no overdubs – particularly not in the wilfully complicated and perfectionist arena of prog and post-rock.
But this Israeli quartet did just that on this third album – the first to be officially released in the UK – and it adds a sturm und drang to their thundering, groove-centric space rock that could easily have been lost to over-production. With no vocals to distract us, the bottom end draws you in. Rumbling bass undercurrents, gut-stabbing rhythm and scuttling, insidious percussion abound on Demands and The Reduction Wheel, offset by squalling guitar hooks, before they let a little more light in with the trippy, expansive synthscapes of Pasadena Matador. And by the end, there’s a vintage sci-fi, War Of The Worlds feel about the doom-laden portent of Cyclamens, as howls of guitar and eerie keyboard wails flash through the night sky. Originally released back in 2012 in Israel, you’re bound to wonder if a newer release is set to follow. If so, If it’s anything like as good as this, we’ll be all ears. JSS
** **
