Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing

Some genre collisions have been tried, tested and ironed out to the point they're now their own beast. Of late, a spate of fusions have been forged that may raise some eyebrows on paper, but have been executed with such conviction that those quizzical brows have quickly returned to normal. On their 2017 self-titled debut, Here Lies Man unleashed their novel afrobeat/psych-rock lovechild to great acclaim. On follow-up You Will Know Nothing this style remains greatly intact, but disappointingly it lacks evolution.

The album operates on one of two levels: dirty, muscular and distorted, or slow, spacey and distorted. Their raw, fuzzing riffs start strong on opener Animal Noises and continue over the next few tracks, showcasing the deep, sonic experience they're known for. However, these rhythms immediately begin rolling into one another, creating an almost indistinguishable police line-up of cuts. Fortunately, Voices at the Window offers a break from this repetition with a more contemplative and cosmic sound – a vibe which is continued with greater success on You Ought to Know.

Nothing is broken with their sound, but the album feels like an extension of their previous work rather than a progression of it. The band’s evident talent, in tandem with their penchant for creating scuzzy and absorbing atmospheres, instils faith that with more consideration in future they'll be able to build upon their already established bedrock.

Listen to: Animal Noises, You Ought to Know, Taking The Blame