This Madison, WI., quintet describes its music as "Emergency Rock" via a commingling of electro-acoustic tone poems engineered upon layered passages, blistering e-guitar crescendos and more. (Fans of Illinois-based "Tortoise," might enjoy some similarities here).

The music is often framed upon guitarists, Aaron Sleator and Dan Venne’s trance-like chord voicing as they sometimes prime the listener for the kill, due to cascading odd-metered rhythms and scorching riffs. Part of the band’s success resides within a nicely balanced fusion of quaintly melodic themes atop EFX treatments and cyclical, ostinato grooves. At times they crash and burn, where primary motifs generally serve as a foundation for climactic-ally-devised movements, tinged with hypnotic passages.

On the piece titled "Lifetime Ranger," they pursue laidback dreamscapes. Then with "Merit," they prompt notions of classic King Crimson as they spawn a blitzkrieg of thrashing rhythms and fuzz-drenched crunch chords. Ultimately, this unit seems bent upon carving out a signature methodology. And regardless of genre, a lot could be said these days for ensemble’s that possess a mark of distinction. They effectively counterbalance mood-evoking harmonic content with pulsating opuses, dappled with disparate elements -- all morphed into a stylistic string of musical events. But there’s an edginess to the musicians mode of attack, that thwarts any semblance of being soft or overly saccharine, namely during the quieter moments.