Bass-heavy power rock trio? Must sound like Primus! Or maybe Rush! Those are the two influences listed first (along with King Crimson, Pink Floyd, etc.), and if I squint and slap my face enough, I can hear that. To be fair, the Crimson and Primus moments (and Tool, another band in the list) are easier to hear. Illogistical Resource Dept. is a much more propulsive and punky band than most in that list, and there are a few post-metal allusions as well. Basically, these boys set sail and don't look back.

Illogistical Resource Dept. Cacoethes (Aphagia Recordings)

They are spectacular musicians, and these songs manage to shift axes within songs (going from bass riff to percussion and then guitar as the lead) with impressive fluidity. And, yeah, this stuff sounds much better loud. Perhaps the easiest association would be a less wiggy (and more cohesive) version of early Mars Volta. But throwing all these influences against the wall misses the big point: This band has created its own sound and its own world. Few are trying to play music quite like this, and no one is doing it this well.

These songs burble, thrash and bounce along with an amazingly steady hand, rarely finding themselves bestilled. There's always another idea, another groove to find. The sound keeps roiling along without concern for what lies in its wake.

I'm always blown away by creative bands who stick the landing. This album is of a piece with early-90s post metal and modern prog, snagging many more ideas and sounds in as well. For the three people who remember, that first Mind Over Four album is also a good, if still incomplete, reference. Climb aboard and hold on. This ship stops for no one and brooks no obstruction as it flies headlong toward the apocalypse.

Jon Worley