Lovelessness

Bison B.C.’s third studio album isn’t a huge departure, which may or may not be why the opening song was titled “An Old Friend.” With mastodon-sized riffs oozing a primordial sludge over anvil-heavy rhythms and throat-grating yells, the song plays with the familiar warmth of a longtime companion or an old jean jacket that feels like a second skin. Still, songs like the nine-minute epic "Anxiety Puke/Lovelessness" take cavernous twists and turns to reveal that at the molten core of Lovelessness, Bison B.C. is confidently experimenting with more progressive arrangements than ever before. “Last and First Things” is another long one that stretches out for eight minutes and 10 seconds. But rather than bludgeon listeners with a relentless onslaught of steroidal doom metal, the song travels through peaks and valleys of a varied sonic landscape. This is partially thanks to in-demand metal producer Sanford Parker, who helped Bison B.C. forge new textures like undulating guitar distortion and giant swirls of feedback that add a dimension of near-psychedelia.