Kristin Hersh
,
Bernard Georges
, and
Rob Ahlers
only make music as
50 Foot Wave
when the time is right, and their releases usually take the shape of ferocious, cobweb-clearing EPs, so when the trio deliver an album, it's a special event. Arriving 17 years after their first full-length, 2005's
Golden Ocean
Black Pearl
honors the strengths of
Hersh
's entire body of work as well as
's singular talents. As on her
Throwing Muses
and solo albums of the late 2010s and early 2020s,
finds
's voice growing ever more expressive and textured. On "Hog Child," her rasp adds more complexity to poetic yet direct lyrics like "the tears I've shed for you weren't all clean." And while
's heavy, layered approach has rubbed off on some of
's other work -- most notably
' 2020 album
Sun Racket
-- there are still some heights she can only reach with this trio. "Staring at the Sun" is one of the band's most striking songs to date:
Ahlers
' formidable drumming and
's gorgeously distorted riff rival
the Deftones
when it comes to marrying beautiful and crushing sounds, but the refrain "you are the strangest stranger I've ever seen" is all
. They use the rest of
to showcase their different shades of musical and emotional heaviness, which can be surprisingly subtle considering their sonic onslaughts. Nuances of grief, regret, and wisdom lend a gravity that extends beyond the weighty rhythms that dominate
, while the prog-like shifts of "Fly Down South," the heaving structure of "Broken Sugar," and the fuzzed-out solos on "Blush" add more color to its depth. The band lighten up ever so slightly on the instrumental title track and "Double Barrel," where
's harmonies add the barest hint of sweetness to a song that takes place in "the city of the dead." Though it's not much longer than some of the group's EPs,
's sustained mood of brooding mystery sets it apart, and its darkly lustrous songs uphold
's reputation as a vital part of
's music. ~ Heather Phares