Akimbo: Jersey Shores

This Neurosis-approved three-piece hailing from Seattle has added to the growing list bands attempting to appropriate Mastodon’s habit of presenting a conceptual narrative that flows with the music. The story at the foreground in Jersey Shores is the shark attacks that took place along the titular coastline in 1916. The music is savage when the band leaps for the jugular, but the bloody, beastly rock is interspersed with stretches of calm, introspective guitar picking and throbbing bass. Perhaps it is in keeping with the subject matter that the thunderous, raw moments occur suddenly, without warning. Ironically, this turns out to be one of the traits of this album that grows predictable. Apart from that minor qualm, this is a fine example of the fearsome Motörhead-meets-High on Fire groove of these scene veterans.