Following their critically acclaimed Sky’s Run Into the Sea, Growing played an exclusive, select number of shows including one at the behest of Mogwai for All Tomorrow’s Parties in the U.K.. Returning with full momentum to the studio, the group recorded several sessions and downsized the group to become a duo of guitar and bass in the process. The results find Growing presenting their most challenging release to date; one that requires patience from the listener as they weave and explore every facet of their musical instrument set-up with great curiosity. Starting off with the gentle “Onement,” the duo take an unexpected shift into the quiet and contemplative; layering church organ drones against guitar feedback and field recordings of nature sounds before building up to a crescendo that brings the rest of the album into focus and the familiar territory that Growing calls home. Meandering guitar drones, exercises in feedback manipulation and oscillation and brutally distorted melodies before coming full circle and returning to the lushness of the album’s opener with “Primitive Associations/Great Mass Above.” To end on such a soft note is somewhat of a daring move for a group whose live sets have a reputation for being punishing on the eardrums, but it also is a reflection of the maturity and sonic versatility that Growing has to offer. It’s also what sets them apart from the ocean of drone practitioners who insist upon using waves of loud feedback as a rule of thumb, making it one of the best of its kind in 2004. – Rob Theakston