]]][[[ [AKA: A NEW HEAVENLY BODY]

BM Sharp (Cloudkicker) is a one-man djent machine, putting out two albums and 3 EPs in the last 3 years. ]]][[[ is perhaps the most strangely named album of all time, and contains three songs also with key-symbol names. After being thoroughly impressed with Sharp's debut album, I picked up this album with high expectations. Alas, though there were a few new variations on the Cloudkicker theme, for the most part this was a less fully realized project. The sound was there, but it didn't grab hold and transport me.

The Cloudkicker sound is a mix of post-rock slow build dynamic and atmospheric mood music combined with detuned riffing inspired by Meshuggah. As the djent genre has evolved, the artists have developed their own sounds and their brutal godfather is less evident. Sharp's sound has become a bit more technical and guitar oriented, and unfortunately a bit less moody. On the first track (#), the typical repetitiveness of post-rock sets a bad tone right away. Rather than setting a mood, the music leaves my ear wandering. At about 2:30 a distorted bass comes in growling like a lurking leopard, and a minute later we finally get some riffing. While also repetitive, the complexity and intensity keep the interest and finally Sharp has me back.

Track 2 (%) has a phenomenal central harmonic theme that takes a bit too long to build. When it finally reaches its full glory at 3:30, the sound is truly ecstatic, and again I get a glimpse of the musical beauty that I saw in the debut album. A short outro is similarly brilliant, which leaves me wondering what he was thinking when he composed the piece. Almost four minutes of repetition, building layer by layer a climax, with a great but tacked on outro. Hmm. Track 3 ($) begins as a metal riff fest, and satisfies that guitarist in me perhaps more than anything else I've heard from Sharp. The song takes a break into a lower trippy section before ending on a frenetic metal race into a dirgish dragging march riff. Certainly the EP ends much better than it began.

All in all, a solid outing. Not as good as THE DISCOVERY, certainly much more uneven. Easily deserving of 3/5 stars.

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