BEACONS

Beacons is one of the greatest surprises 2010 has offered. Ben Sharp's sound has evolved far since the days of Meshuggah-esque riffing on his first album, and his second full-length album displays his new sound in all of it's aural rapture. While his use of polyrhythms and post-metal interludes is still intact, the pieces sound more complete and more satisfying. While the song-interlude format of The Discovery remains intact, the pieces as a whole sound more cohesive and centralized than his first album. And all of these factors together create was is undoubtedly his best work yet. Sharp has undoubtedly matured as a musician, and it pays off. The tracks "We're goin' in. We're going down," "Oh, god," and "It's bad. We're hit, man, we are hit" are highlights, though you really should listen to the album in its entirety.