Young Widows

In and Out of Youth and Lightness is a surprisingly restrained release from a band that rose from the ashes of something explosive (Breather Resist), which is actually what holds it back. On their third album, Young Widows have been swallowed by a cloudy haze. They excel at building tension, but haven't quite mastered the release, and the album risks coming off as a 48-minute escalator to nowhere as a result. The bleak, plodding grooves of "Lean on the Ghost" and the title track's dub-like backing stand tall on a steady album with few climaxes and fewer lows, but in the end it feels like a joke without a punch line. As lofty as the comparisons might be ― imagine if Jesus Lizard grew up on Nick Cave and The Argument-era Fugazi ― the Kentucky three-piece aren't doing enough to punctuate their sound. Sure, it's worth a listen, but only just.