The Low Frequency in Stereo
The last temptation of...
Gigantic Music

It's a little risky for an established instrumental group to suddenly start adding vocals, which made my first listen or two to this one a bit underwhelming. But then I started readjusting my ears and soon realized that this Norwegian post-rock quartet have one of the most consistent, propulsive grooves in the entire genre, and that's saying a lot. There's a muscularity to their playing that's pretty awe-inspiring; both the rhythm section and the guitar work are punchy perfection. A few tracks are straight instrumentals, but when vocals are used, they're quite effective. Hanne Andersen (who also plays killer trumpet and organ - is that a Farfisa?) gives us a taut, slightly distorted lead vocal on "21", then sweetens her delivery considerably on "Axes". Here and there, we get male/female harmonies that are quite nice. LFIS never give in to empty virtuosity: everything is about the primary groove and the interlocking musical components. The post-rock cup literally runneth over this year, but you can't deny the extra splash of excitement provided by these cool Norwegians.
- Kevin Renick