Kraus // Path

Terrible Records

4.5/5 Stars

Kraus is the latest in a line of nearly inescapable Bandcamp recommendations, and for good reason. Path is an otherworldly shoegaze experience that can be both relentlessly aggressive and exceedingly calm, like Sigur Ros playing through a whole lot of distortion pedals. The album's opening and closing tracks ("Figure" and "Mostly," respectively) almost mirror each other with a Kid A-level of ambience, but it's what's packed in between that has more in common with various Deftones projects than, say, "Motion Picture Soundtrack." Second track "Bum" is a melodic thrasher that takes noise-rock to stratospheric highs as vocalist (and project mastermind) Will Kraus lends a breathy pseudo-whisper above the grainy track. It's a high point in energy that Path never truly loses — one that only simmers and fizzles along the way. Though Path may be an acquired taste for some, it is liable to bend the minds of lo-fi musicians everywhere as every soaring piece and deafening detail was recorded in Kraus' bedroom. If Kraus truly has become inescapable, it's likely because this incredible and unexpected recording demands to not be overlooked. — Aaron Mook