Album Details

• Artist: Inhabitants
• Album: A Vacant Lot
• Label: Drip Audio
• Year of Release: 2010
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2010-03-03

For their third full-length, Vancouver's Inhabitants continue to explore their brand of rock/improv/noise that, since their 2004 formation, has made them a potent, unpredictable live act. "A Vacant Lot" displays music chops, a sense of fun, and a deep connection to the droning soundscapes they create.

Alternations and combinations of Electronics, distortion, extended noisy fusion, moody post-rock mark dramatic but centered tunes like "Journey of the Loach," "Whistling Pass," and "Over it Begins." The most signature track is the opener, "Far Away in Old Worlds," where  the quartet lead by JP Carter's questioning  trumpet and the raw but in charge and lyrical guitar of David Sikula roam through a forest of various styles until the melody becomes subsumed in a smooth, epic drone. The rhythm section of Pete Schmitt and drummer Syke Brooks keep to the deep background most of the time, though their  foundation allows Sikula and Carter to wield the sticks that make the stew thick.

"A Vacant Lot" is full of echoes and open space, sometimes filled, other times with gaps intact, which swirl until they meet and form a powerful, deep soundscape. Inhabitants are explorers, and have found nuggets among several styles that suit their sonic sculpting purposes.

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