Llynch

Germany's Llynch, despite a split a few years back with the Minor Times and a couple of EP releases, have remained relatively unknown here up until this point. We Are Our Ghosts, however, is such a breathtaking debut that it would be criminal to deny them the accolades fellow across-the-ponders the Ocean garnered with this year's Precambrian. Possessing a similar knack for controlled experimentation and textural subtlety, Llynch strip the carcasses of metalcore and rebuild from the bone out. An Isis-esque ebb and flow within the often-lengthy tracks is moody without being contrived, and often pays off by morphing effortlessly into mid-tempo, crunchy noisecore recalling a more abrasive Starkweather or older Norma Jean. Across the potentially irksome 60-minute-plus running time, the group fail to bore even for a moment, sustaining the kind of tension and atmosphere rarely seen in the genre. A dynamic, raw mix fleshes out the material perfectly and sets the album apart from the conventions of a style too often polished beyond recognition on recording. Vocally, front-man P. Hell steps up to the plate with vocals that almost disorient in their diversity. With some North American touring and a little luck, Llynch's reputation will no doubt no established but We Are Our Ghosts is a superb enough release to earn them a name on its merits alone.