The 2019 Arsies: February 4, 2019

February 4, 2019

Emotion	●●●	●●○
Memorability	●●●	●●●
Replayability	●●●	●●●
Innovation	●●●	●●●
Pace	●●●	●●●
Shredding	●●○	●●●
Vocals	●●○	●●●
Production	●●●	●●●
		✓

Unfuckingbelievable! I was all set to say goodbye to Intronaut today... until I listened to them back to back. Wavering Radiant is as sublime as ever, and the music's murky emotionality retains its hypnotic power. And each legit song on this album (the shortest of which is still over 7 minutes long) takes you on a satisfying journey with nary a wasted moment. The one exception to that rule? The title track, oddly enough; fortunately, Intronaut has a similar pacing-killer today, so no worries. Speaking of Intronaut, then, The Direction Of Last Things is not a perfect record, and does not have quite as much gravitas as Wavering Radiant. It is however more of a musical achievement: progressive but still listenable, tight in its execution even as the band dedicates more time to loftier experimentation. The Direction Of Last Things is also a triumph not only of dynamics (which Wavering Radiant also plays with) but of variety (which the latter struggles with). I'm certainly happy that I listened to the Isis, but at the end of the day, I'd rather listen to the Intronaut a second time and see what new things I can discover in another listening.
We bid adieu to Isis one last time, and congratulate Intronaut on making it into the Quarterfinals! Tomorrow, we'll see who goes up against them. Will it be Glassjaw or Rivers Of Nihil?