While each of
Activity
's albums could rightfully be called spellbinding,
A Thousand Years in Another Way
takes that description to another level. After paring back their detailed atmospheres on
Spirit in the Room
, the band and longtime producer
Jeff Berner
bring them back with an eerie vengeance, resulting in some of their most transporting music. The murmuring, rustling, and shimmering sounds woven into
A Thousand Years
' songs reach seance-like levels of spookiness on "We Go Where We're Not Wanted," one of many times
challenge themselves to explore the darkest, strangest corners of their music. Even as they do so, they don't sacrifice any of the songcraft they developed on
. "Heavy Breathing"'s lush drama makes for one of their catchiest songs to date; along with the ghostly sparkle of "A Piece of Mirror," it's not so much dream pop as pop that sounds like it was fashioned out of actual dreams.
Travis Johnson
,
Jess Rees
, and
Bri DiGioia
's shared songwriting and lead vocal duties add more hypnotic facets -- and influences -- to the album. On the taut opening track, "In Another Way,"
find the common ground between
Sonic Youth
Smashing Pumpkins
Dick Dale
; "Your Dream" rivals
Blonde Redhead
in its enigmatic elegance; and on "Her Alphabet,"
Portishead
's stark mystique remains a potent source of inspiration. Despite the album's shifting sounds,
unite their music with an intimate understanding of life's traumas that lurks just beneath the surface of "Scissors"' surreal electro-rock and comes to the fore on the towering finale, "The Beast." The band pair this unwavering mood with growing confidence, and hearing them create a sound world full of beauty and menace on
is a truly rewarding experience. ~ Heather Phares