Aeternal Flux II

  This is the fourth album from Bristol-based avant-rock outfit The Brackish . From their 2014 debut  Big Guys  onwards, their style has hinged on  blending composition and improvisation to form  complex, yet accessible post-everything instrumentals.  For this HalfMeltedBrain Records release, they've attempted a more accurate replication of their live sound, with the jazzier elements of their collective approach pushed to the foreground. There are elements of math rock and prog-metal that suggest polyrhythmically tricky forebears like Tortoise and Battles (and sometimes British contemporaries black midi); but there's also plenty of kraut-flavoured space and stoner groove to aid cognitive absorption for those more into headphonaut contemplation.  While some of their earlier material has an almost dancefloor-friendly, neo-bluegrass bounce, the predominant moods on this release are exemplified by either knotty and stormy epics or downtempo, jazzy dream pieces ('Leftbank').