Red Velvet Corridor acts as a beautifully harrowing introduction to the ambient-leaning sonics of the album.

Mid-High 8.

I Was a Prisoner in Your Skull: Using an actual recording of a criminal gives this song a strong amount of eerie merit. The spoken word about the codependence between the law and the lawbreakers, along with the instrumental, is one of the most original and creative things I’ve heard. Additionally, the bells on the back of the mix are also heart-wrenching and combine fantastically with the tone of the percussion that builds up tension throughout.

Mid-High 9.

Helpless Child is… chilling. The horrible relationship between a metaphorical mother and child is scarring due to an absolutely potent showcase of lyrical ability; seemingly exploring a switching of roles due to old age. Moreover, this track is a fantastic compositional feat, impressively carried out and immaculately performed — especially for the unforgettably mind-blowing second half.

Mid 9.

Live Through Me is an amazing instrumental interlude with a strong overarching sadness, despite the fast-paced acoustic guitar arrangement — one which boasts quite an impactful chord progression, and aids in the immersion. All in all, this track acts as a conclusion to a perfectly powerful instrumental breakdown in “Helpless Child”.

High 8.

Yum-Yab Killers: Having a live performance of the song to show the reception of the horrid and twisted lyrics is genius. Additionally, I love Jarboe’s performance in this. Admittedly, the appeal is not as introspective or nuanced as in other tracks, but her performance (along with the unsettling guitar compositions) makes for quite an off-kilter and enjoyable cut.

High 8.

The Beautiful Days is an incredibly immersive and painful juxtaposition between childhood innocence and something as hard to chew as the tape recording of a phone-sex worker talking about her experiences with numbness. The general production elements, the voice of a young Jarboe, and the extremely eerie arrangements all come together chillingly. This track shows the band’s absolute mastery of bleak soundscapes which are as alluring as they are difficult to stomach.

Low-Mid 9.

Volcano: The horrifying lyrics of life as a female artist in a misogynistic world and the haunting beats are greatly complimented by yet another one of Jarboe’s amazing performances — which, again, proves her amazing ability and stylistic range. This track truly makes for one of the most saddening experiences off of the album. However, it’s a bit of a distraction from the more ambient directions this album takes (and which I happen to enjoy a tad more).

Mid-High 8.

Mellothumb is another great instrumental palette cleanser and a prologue for what’s about to come. It plunges the listener right back into a more laid-back ambience, although in a bit of a lacking way.

Low 8.

All Lined Up is an incredible song of rage directed towards an unspecified group of people. It is an extremely evocative moment of emotive explosion. Instrumentally, this track is an immaculate art piece of the harrowing and the enraged.

10.

Surrogate 2: This well-placed moment of drone instrumentation following “All Lined Up” is a fantastic moment every single time as well as a great artistic decision.

Low 9.

How They Suffer is an absolutely heartbreaking depiction of old age and numbness through tape recordings of Michael Gira’s father and Jarboe’s mother. The instrumentation that surrounds these recordings is nothing short of absolutely, emotionally desolating.

Mid 9.

Animus is another tragic retelling of the themes of ageing and losing vitality — a sort of conclusion to the first disc of this double album. From the vocal performances to the strings to the grand and ambient guitars, and the percussion arrangements, this is an excellent closer from an instrumental perspective as well — boasting a fantastically immersive refrain by the time the “Screaming out your name” lines are sung. Moreover, the beginning with the plastic-ball-bouncing-like noises is another moment that’s unlike anything I’ve heard elsewhere.

Low 9.

Red Velvet Wound opening the second disc makes “Red Velvet” a recurring opening theme, lyrically touching on toxic motherhood again. Instrumentally, it’s an uncannily childlike reminiscing of someone’s early years in a very melancholic moment of retrospection.

Mid 8.

The Sound is similar to “Helpless Child” thematically and musically — and it’s a tad tamer, although still great self-referencing reintroduction within the record. In this instance, the child character admits to having been wrong, but also shows a scornful detailing of the mother’s shortcomings.

High 8.

Her Mouth Is Filled With Honey has some incomprehensibly good sound design towards the beginning; also, it’s extremely ominous and immersive — case in point: the vocal manipulation and the ice-cream-truck-like bells constantly and abrasively ringing throughout. The recording of Jarboe’s father without a clue of her first trip on LSD is extremely fitting with topics explored in the record — showing a disconnect between parents and their children. A lack of bonding that hurts more and more as you see your parents age to the point where their lack of vitality starts taking away their ability to live.

Mid-High 8.

Blood Section is a fantastic instrumental that is ominously cheerful — can’t trust a happy moment on this album. More specifically, this eeriness comes from context and its endless repetition.

Mid-High 9.

Hypogirl touches on themes of extreme neediness stemming from a painful bringing-up. And… well, yes; I’d be lying if I were to say that this Jarboe performance is the most tolerable for any listener. However, personally, I appreciate her absolutely unapologetic and evocative emotion — as well as the chemistry between her vocals and the disturbing guitar arrangements.

Mid 8.

Minus Something uses another recording of the phone sex worker from “The Beautiful Days” for another haunting and fantastic exploration of numbness. The potent, grief-filled arrangements and wonderfully creative production elements compliment it greatly. Even as soon as it starts, this cut is immediately immersive and remains a gut-wrenching listen throughout. Overall, it’s a fantastic showing of the more ambient and low-energy directions this record takes.

Low 9.

Empathy encompasses the contempt the speaker feels for their horrible mother in the form of spitefully wishing adversity upon her. It is a very calm and seemingly uneventful instrumental towards the beginning, but it eventually escalates into a wonderfully overcompressed and dark breakdown. It’s a more straightforward moment in the tracklist, and I mean that in the best of ways.

High 8.

I Love You This Much is another commendable instrumental interlude. From the crowd-like vocal glissandos to the distorted electronics and panned cymbal swells, this is among the most unsettling and challenging tracks for sure. Although this is quite a creative soundscape to explore the topic of toxic love (as suggested by the title), with all the whirring and sirens that are included in the mix, it —personally— falls in the grey area of being a tad abrasive to a fault.

High 7.

YRP seems to stand for “your property” and it seems to be about submission learned from lacklustre parenting, or born from ethical blindness. The start is unsettling and ominously comedic; eventually, it descends into a vocal performance by Jarboe within a slightly more uneventful track — one that finds its merit in how enveloping it is.

Mid-High 8.

Fan’s Lament is another deceitfully happy instrumental with a really enjoyable guitar tone and performance. These mood-contradicting and senseless moments within the tracklist might come across as unconventional, but that doesn’t make them any less appreciable.

Mid-High 8.

Secret Friends ends the previous happiness with a palatable albeit ghostly introduction and a more haunting second half. It features bright strumming and desolate humming tied together in quite a hypnotic and admirable ambient cut.

High 8.

The Final Sacrifice seems to be a desperate attempt at salvation and redemption but with a severe misunderstanding of Jesus. Calling him a “girl” suggests one of two things: the protagonist here idolises women and creates relationships with a severe imbalance and horrid demand, treating them as much superior and at a loss of themselves; or they are at a total loss — at a point where no search for restoration will undo their afflictions (caused either by old age or by ill-conceived parenthood). Towards the end, there is —once again— applause to show how this is incentivised and even rewarded. Instrumentally, it’s a somewhat soothing and almost meditative track; contrasted by the occasional scream in Michael Gira’s piercing vocal performance. The rest of the arrangements are equally sombre, from the constant bassline to the dynamic and evocatively mixed percussion, it all combines into quite an admirable sonic landscape.

Mid 9.

YRP 2 is fantastic and needs no more lyrics to evoke what the singer (screamer) is feeling after the hopeless nature of the last track —  and the rest of the record for that matter.

Low 9.

Surrogate Drone closes the album beautifully. It is as uneventful as it is charming, and nothing short of a highly applaudable tracklisting decision.

Mid-High 8.