Life Thread have undoubtedly underwent a metamorphosis since their last outing, as where they once banked heavily on grunge influences, they now instead take shape with a sound that is rooted more within the confines indie rock and emo, filled with melancholic vocals, timid song progressions and a more traditional song writing feel overall. Essentially on this disc, the band trudge their way through a number of darkly tinged songs that could probably best be described as a soundtrack for the downtrodden and depressed, bringing to mind perhaps the likes of dredg, finger eleven or Sunny Day Real Estate after a horrible catastrophe wiped out their entire family.

Drained vocals strain and croon their way over turgid riffs, wavering with the propulsion of each note, yet rarely alter their course to inflect emotion, instead choosing to stay firmly footed in a very calm and weary heart strained demeanor. The occasional bright passage does manage to surface, but for the most part band frontman Geoff prefers to play it quite somber and restrained, adding to the overall withered beauty which the band continually try to exude. Guitar wise the album is played quite traditionally as band guitarist Todd enlists a wealth of clean or lightly distorted strums and plucks to construct a resilient yet entrancing field of noise, bringing to mind the likes of Sunny Day Real Estate with the occasional prog rock tendency. The bass lines as such are laid out supportively and add a distinct depth to the guitar parts while also serving as a guide for the more energetic drumming performance to tumble its way through underneath. Cameos from a piano and some sampling also makes an appearance here on a track or two and serve their purpose well, broadening the bands range while also providing an eerie ambiance that works hand in hand with the music and its often dejected atmosphere.

Overall its quite interesting to see the band progress in this direction and the ideas which they present are indeed a welcome change from the derivative mainstream and various other diluted styles that have risen to become commonplace in recent times. The group are now able slow things down to a crawl and slowly free fall through humbling and disheartened pieces that retain an intelligent and hopeful outlook, while also shifting back more to traditional musicianship and the ideals of less being more. However, that said the songs tend to suffer from a stark lack of dynamics as a whole, with little changes left in places to help send the listener spiraling deeper or rise them up from the darkness, instead leaving them stuck deep within a gloomy and heavy hearted pace that can occasionally wear out its welcome due to lack of evolution or refreshing sonic twists. If this group could perhaps make things a bit more varied or more expansive next time out, they could truly capitalize on the ideas they have already cultivated and make their music captivating in a broken hearted sort of way, but at present it still seems a bit too rigid and flat to vividly convey the emotions which they consistently try to express, leaving this a solid outing that suffers only from implementation and perhaps a lack of substantial variety.