Losa

Losa have created an album that is almost as difficult to listen to as it is to define. Lying somewhere between Converge, ambient prog, and Lamb Of God’s older material, The Perfect Moment keeps the listener on the edge for its duration, tricking one into clawing at the arms of their chair, waiting for a breakdown that very rarely comes. This album is constricting, tight, and claustrophobic, but somewhat lacking in replay value due to the utter weirdness of the songwriting and their apparent inability to draw particularly compelling sections to a close. The production is crisp yet strangely spacious, and littered with bizarrely placed bass cannons, which seem to make an appearance pretty much everywhere but when you expect them. The vocals alternate from an eardrum-shredding shriek to subversively unsettling cleans, and the faint whispering and frequent "emotional freak-out” parts may be a tad nu-ish for some. There are so many different elements present, and so many apparent inspirations and experiments that it is difficult to pinpoint specific ones, as the disc on the whole is a bit bloated and needlessly angular. Those seeking out something perplexing and altogether unique should investigate this — arguably Metal Blade’s most diverse and unconventional offering this year yet.