
In the first of this short album’s two tracks, “Umpire”, Soothsayer build a thick atmosphere of bass rumbling and keening guitar licks, backed by slow-moving drums and a treacle-speed swell of feedback. Rising into growls, howls, and pounding beats, the song makes the transition to higher energy with a nice degree of control, and the violence which emerges is fitted smoothly to the growth of the running melody. “Of Locusts and Moths” follows a similar structure at half the length, with further background texturing, a sharper shift into speed, and a stronger main riff. It does drop off somewhat abruptly, but that plays to its debut album status by, along with its overall strong song-writing, leaving listeners wanting more.