If all Modern Rituals had to offer was the walloping noise rock of album highlight The Bull Never Wins, they’d still be an attention-grabbing prospect. Instead, this second album straddles musical territories in fine, cherry-picking form to create a truly excellent body of work. Opener Passageway sounds like Radiohead if someone replaced all their jazz and electronica records with Fugazi and Sonic Youth, while Them Days Is Gone is a summery blast evoking Dinosaur Jr. in their prime. A record which weaves between inventive post-hardcore, shimmering shoegaze and serious bludgeon could risk sounding disjointed, but This Is The History is a seriously seductive listen. Jutting Chin and Scratcher In The Mash are all the stronger for their unpredictable dynamics, while Sithin Flesche an...
