The Hundred in the Hands

Occasionally baffling, frequently beautiful, UK label Warp can boast a seriously enviable canon. That canon is dutifully occupied by Brooklyn, NY's the Hundred in the Hands. Bound to appeal to those who find Radiohead's most obscure work too accessible, second LP Red Night (helmed by UK pop producer Richard X) is a foot-moving triumph of ennui, minor chords and warped FX. Prominent in this are Eleanore Everdell's versatile, sinking-heart vocals, evoking Ian Curtis and the late Trish Keenan in their spectral elegance. Thundering opener "Empty Stations" buries insistent bass under a voice that wends and whirls around miasmic atmospherics, like dust caught up in a supernova. Meanwhile, for all the potency elsewhere it's true that songs like "Faded" and "SF Summer" stagger the pace somewhat, distracting from the duo's knack for wreaking cosmic havoc. The odd misstep aside, Red Night is a trip to the sonic fantastic that reveals its treasures readily, if you'll only tune into its distant, mind-bending frequency.