Brooklyn instrumental trio
Sannhet
's third album,
So Numb
, seems less indebted to black metal than their previous releases. That doesn't make it any less intense or powerful, however. The recording quality is cleaner and more defined, and there's a bit more of a post-punk/shoegaze shimmer to some of the guitars, but the music itself still surges and strikes. Apart from the ambitious seven-minute epic "Fernbeds" and the nearly
Justin Broadrick
-esque semi-industrial track "Salts," most of the songs are relatively concise, going without the meandering build-ups typical of the more crescendo-loving post-rock bands. Instead, they get right down to business and deliver a full-on attack. The album does conclude on an ominous note with "Wind Up," which sounds like a cluster of music boxes slowly decaying against feedback and haunted pianos. ~ Paul Simpson