The grimly beautiful A Dream of the Sea is the Renderers’ most impressive outing to date, a dark and often harrowing plunge into a world of nightmares and noise. Although rooted in blues and country, the band’s music frequently veers out of control, lacerated by peals of feedback and fuzz; images of madness and death abound throughout the lyrics, and the mood on highlights like “Low to the Ground” and “Right from Wrong” is positively funereal. Visceral and enthralling, it’s a trip into hell well worth taking. – Jason Ankeny
