Thou - Inconsolable (Community, 2018)

Thou have taken a lot of departures from being the doom metal band they're Supposed to Be, and Inconsolable may be the wildest departure yet. It's an all-acoustic EP, the 2nd of three leading up to their new full-length Magus later this year, and supposedly inspired by Nirvana's MTV Unplugged album. Vocalist Bryan Funck is absent - rather, he's written the lyrics and given them over to a cast of women to sing in his stead. The Nirvana album was evoked only intermittently with me - the first track, "The Unspeakable Oath", sounded more like Mogwai and I was preparing myself for a really interesting album. The rest of the album scores only so-so for me. Like "The Unspeakable Oath", "Come Home, You Are Missed" has a downtempo Thou feel (remarkable given there's no metal to be found here) and sonically could slot alongside Nirvana, Alice in Chains, or similar downtrodden alt/metal fare. "The Hammer" is a longer, more prog-ish piece with a lot of violin - the vocals are handed over to K.C. Stafford, evoking Jarboe (and the music following, 90's Swans isn't a far off comparison). From "The Hammer" onward the EP departs from the alt-metal feel of the first two cuts. "Behind the Mask, Another Mask", "Fallow State" and "Into the Scourge Pit" are in that Swans-y, Marianne Faithful-y, less interesting mode. A curveball in an an album of curveballs comes in the form of "Find the Cost of Freedom", a CSNY cover, splitting an acoustic melody with a vocal harmony (featuring I believe the only male vocals on the EP. "Entombed in Man" is the short fuzzed instrumental closer that returns to the Mogwai vibe, but too little too late as most of the disc just wasn't as interesting as the promise shown on those first couple of tunes. Too bad.