Album Review: Jakob - Sines

13 October 2014 | 1:59 pm | Brendan Telford

"A sense of ephemeral grace proves that the time away was well spent"

It’s taken eight years for NZ instrumentalists Jakob to emerge from their self-imposed exile with Sines. The crushing opener Blind Them With Science is reminiscent of the juxtaposition of ethereal yet obliterating power that Scottish titans Mogwai upheld in their youth. Other tracks plague the emotions – the mournful elegance of Emergent; the regal yet euphoric upswing of Harmonia; the white-noise washout of the title track. There is a majesty underscoring every moment of Sines that shirks the over-earnestness of many of their contemporaries for a sense of ephemeral grace that proves the time away was well spent.