I bought this album on the strength of an article I read about Lungfish that made them sound interesting (a Dischord band feted by Joan Jett) if not great. I'm the opposite of disappointed. Nearly every review of each of the ten or so albums they've released advises newcomers, "This is as good a place to start as any," and the same applies here. Apparently everything they've done is as fantastically repetitive as these songs. There are variations from one song to another - from crushing early-Nirvana-esque riffs and death metal screaming to impossibly delicate melancholy psychedelic instrumentals - but usually the first bar or two of each track is pretty much the straight-line trajectory through to the end of the track, musically speaking. Solos are virtually unheard of (a lilting bass in the background wanders a little on the last track, but that's it). Play riff, repeat to end. Such a firm discipline mostly leaves the space for tension and variation to small twists on phrasing, exquisitely subtle yet earth-shaking testaments to the human body interacting with instruments. This music lays the hypnotic foundation for Daniel Higgs' entrancing lyrics, a guttural idiosyncratic mysticism belted out with respectful nods to Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Plant. Next pay cheque, I'll be getting the rest of their albums.