Heartwarmongering (Offseason)

Alternating between propulsive, impassioned drama and glowing, meditative lyricism, Limbs of the Stars’ heartwarmongering shows sides of Stephen Lyons that followers of Fond of Tigers might miss. That band’s tendency to build to maximalist, multi-instrumental explosions is mostly choked back, creating a restrained, pushing-against-the-barriers tension that usually just threatens to soar—although occasional breakouts still occur.

While FoT’s ’70s prog-jazz-meets-avant-rock template is still roughly in place, there’s more romanticism evident here, including a folky/alt-country element, courtesy of Lyons’s plaintive, introspective vocals. See “no more sinners” and “us vs. them” especially: most of the album is instrumental, but there are a couple honest-to-God songs here. Lyons’s guitar doesn’t so much defy genre as employ it at will, making artful, evocative journeys of each track. Skye Brooks’s drumming slips effortlessly between the jazzy impressionism at the start of “falling for falling’s sake” and the Swans-like, pounding intensity at the end. And the freakout that begins the perversely titled “cosby” gives way to super-cool showoff bass-noodling from Shanto Acharia.

This is a thinking person’s musical feast. It doesn’t really matter what your musical orientation is; if you’re smart, you’ll find stuff to like.