The second full-length effort from Winnipeg post-punk trio This Hisses is sparse and simple but equally haunting and uncomfortable. The opening title track is a creeping nightmare, and the album doesn’t pull any punches when creating a gloom-filled soundscape. Solid guitar work keeps the pace grooving along and one’s head bobbing on such tracks as Blacksmith and Winter’s Grip, while many of the tracks on this album are drain-circlers; building toward a climax that doesn’t arrive and choosing to soak in the lack of resolution. The guitar is ever-present, adding tremendous texture but usually seems to be lurking just off-screen, peeking in for moments at a time to growl and excite before backing off, allowing vocal despair to again permeate the environment. Produced by Matt Peters (Royal Canoe) and John Paul Peters (Imaginary Cities) This Hisses has created the soundtrack for an as-yet-unmade Lynchian gothic heartbreaker.

Published in Volume 67, Number 26 of The Uniter (May 29, 2013)