A Whisper in the Noise - Dry Land

An Albini-produced exercise in modern slow-core, this is certainly not a party record. Dry Land is rich in an intelligent melancholy, best exemplified in the use of the almost Jewish violin on In Will and when most closely resembling a less optimistic Arcade Fire, as on You, The Orphan. However, the ratio of unremarkable misery to remarkable tenderness is too high and AWITN simply comes across as a less charismatic Black Heart Procession. Potentially good songs too often go in bad directions, such as Sons, which begins as a haunting Eastern European piano line before contorting itself into skewed art-rock. Unfortunately Thordson's vocals clumsily enter the fray and a horrible choice of distortion coupled with a wavering, lazy melody do nothing but hasten reaching for the skip button. Despite glimpses of brilliance, similar disappointments, including a rather weak Daniel Johnston cover, are ultimately too frequent for this to be a great album. [Chris Cusack]