Jakob: Cale: Drew

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * *)

The third release from the Napier-based art-noise trio is another barren soundscape of effects-heavy guitars and brooding rhythm section with just the merest hint - about 20 minutes in - of vocals.

They certainly have a way with a dreamy delay pedal and the other one which turns everything into a full metal racket and back again on tracks which average around the seven-minute mark.

The curious thing is the quieter Jakob get, the more gripping they sound, especially on the sweetly hypnotic Faye with its featured cello; Jimmy Hoffa, which comes with a beat which seems to have escaped the world music section and vaguely Eastern melody lines, before the inevitable train wreck near the mid-point; or Laburnum, which has Tristan Dingemans (of HDU, Jakob's natural forerunners, also with Hawkes Bay roots) on guest guitar helping its pleasant haze.

But too much of this lapses from its grand sonic art statement intentions into seemingly deathless slow-motion jamming to really hold the interest.

It's often fierce, but frequently formless.

Label: Midium