The White Beyond

Industrial/synth pop, far from being something dead and gone, has just as much of a dedicated fanbase keeping it going on a quiet level as any other past musical form. Thus Thou Shalt Not, a Pennsylvania trio dedicated to the belief that Nine Inch Nails wasn't the final shot across the bow as such. The common blend of restrained elegance and looming dread which can be found in this approach — lead singer Alex Reed is most definitely not trying to sound wracked like Trent Reznor — calls to mind what a band like Cause and Effect might have tried if a couple of Warp Records releases were in their collections, and they were a touch more aggressive. But only a touch, and indeed, one of the band's better points is how carefully they use silence and understatement, even in their busier arrangements, to create impact. The way "Inside of You, In Spite of You" and "The Insistence on Solid Floors" suddenly burst forward in glitchy clips; how "Glaciers" (in interesting contrast to the titular object) hits a steady acid house pulse at points, gives a sense that the band doesn't not dance as well. "Cardinal Directions" and "G.L.M" wrap up in a whirl of IDM-style whirs and grinds, further proof that while Thou Shalt Not have a specific approach, they haven't closeted themselves to other takes. When things amp up (as they do), there's also an ear given to quiet keyboard drones, and moody counterpoint melodies under the beats. That said, certainly songs like the sweetly epic "We Could Have Flown Like Pollen," with its engagingly loopy lead synth melody, and the merrily paced near-romp "Trial By Fire," show that all isn't gloom. Even familiar approaches, like cutting out all the instruments down to the piano at the end of "The Ocean is Your Voice," and the vocal/string exchange on the title track, work well here.