THE WOODS

Erik Nilsson's work has always been minimal, from the stuff I absolutely adore from him to the material I'm less sold on, but this is almost a new level of minimal. Existing within the same vocal-infused post-rock framework as previous albums and projects, this takes the piano-led minimalism of The Rifts to new extremes, and results in an album with about a quarter of the musical ideas. Don't get me wrong, the apocalyptic atmosphere is utterly beautiful here, and I'll always appreciate modern post-rock that allows vocal performance to be a part of its sound, but my god this thing is slow. It's almost funeral doom tier, and I'm not sure the songs are good enough to justify it. It's got a fantastic atmosphere and some strong sections, but albums in his back catalogue do that with a bit more substance.

6.3 (3rd listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction