Following an impressive debut album (And We Wept the Black Ocean Within) and a nice split and collaborative release (see their record with Nadja called Primitive North), A Storm of Light give their latest album Forgive Us Our Tresspasses to show just how far the band has progressed in the interim. The ten new compositions that Josh Graham (Neurosis, Red Sparowes, (Fallen) Black Deer) and company offer on this new record push the boundaries of what the group did previously and traverse new sonic territory.
Immediately, there is a noticeable change in the musical motifs that A Storm of Light wields as if the group underwent an evolutionary step between their albums. "Alpha (Law of Nature Pt. 1)," "Arc of Failure (Law of Nature Pt. 2)," and "Time Our Saviour (Law of Nature Pt. 3)" are disturbing spoken word pieces (courtesy of Lydia Lunch author, solo musician, and member of seminal no wave act Teenage Jesus and the Jerks) supported by all manner of instrumentation from electronic waves to what sound like plucking banjos. The Swans influence on the band is readily apparent (and actually quite striking in its effectiveness) particularly with tracks like "Amber Waves of Gray" (the vocals are particularly reminiscent of Swans, complete with male and female vocals) and "Across the Wilderness" (complete with former Swans chanteuse Jarboe providing vocals). The Neurosis influence is still apparent as well (check "Tempest" for examples), but A Storm of Light seem to be expanding further from their influences to speak more with their own voice. Some of the moodier moments on Forgive Us Our Trespasses are on display in "The Light in Their Eyes" with a lush string arrangement being a large focus of the piece, and the seamless melding of those strings with the guitars definitely is a highlight of the album.
A Storm of Light score big with Forgive Us Our Trespasses by painting a wide reaching aural tapestry that deftly weaves from the heavy to the soft creating an impressive atmosphere for the compositions to take shape. The production work on the album also shows off the songs in the right ways and is rich with a nice room-y sound, particularly the drums which sound downright cavernous at times. I have to say that Forgive Us Our Trespasses is a monster leap for A Storm of Light and one which has rocketed the group in my personal estimation of the band, particularly on the back of Primitive North; their rapid progression can only mean good things for all of us listeners, and checking this record out should be on people's lists of things to do.
