Sidharta

Spiky and angular, there are few songs on The Sid Matter that develop beyond sonic experimentation in the indie rock vein. The majority of the album plays out as swirling Sonic Youth distortion offset by a strong penchant for Refused-inspired dissonance and hyper chaos. Lay some Cobain-ish screeching a la "Scentless Apprentice” over top and voila: Montreal’s Sidharta. A touch too rock-based for true experimental fans yet buried in anti-typical song structure that will surely alienate groove fans, The Sid Matter is a lumbering giant at six songs. Without any bona fide hooks to make songs catchy or reasonable inner-song transitions, it’s an album that comes across as unnerving and asymmetrical.