Adopting the theme of rebuilding after a gruelling tour drained their batteries, Kylesa’s seventh opus marks another stride forward sonically, while also nodding to their past.
Continuing the trend started with 2013’s Ultraviolet, guitarist Laura Pleasants does most of the heavy lifting in terms of vocals and it’s their most layered and melodic offering yet, exploring and expanding upon their 80s goth, space rock and psych influences yet still remaining thunderously heavy.
The aptly named Crusher kicks things off with a bang, marrying a doom-laden riff with hypnotic vocals. The bass-driven, Banshees-steeped Falling, the mesmerising, shoegaze-informed Moving Day and the anthemic Lost And Confused, which features a badass riff and otherworldly backing vox, all impress. Though it is lightly front-loaded, Exhausting Fire is an incendiary album full of just the right amount of old school thrills (Shaping The Southern Sky) and experimentation (Night Drive) to delight and excite.
