Hermit Thrushes: Mystery Ocean

The third full album, and eighth release, from Hermit Thrushes is a predictably noise-y, off-kilter one that incorporates field recordings, bass clarinets, nervous-sounding vocal lines, and guitars that whir and wear atop tracks such as “Nails In The Wood” and “Telegraph Hill”. The unusual instrumentation and house-of-horrors rhythms and lyrics are dense, claustrophobic and achieved with an enviable authenticity. It’s not the easiest stuff to hang with, thus by the time Mystery Ocean winds down, a mere 24 minutes after it all began, the listener can breath a sigh of relief and pause for a moment or two before getting back on the helter skelter ride.