Sinch
It's appropriate that this album appeared just a few weeks after the death of Layne Staley, for Staley, and his former band,Alice in Chains, are close sonic kin to Sinch. Many of the 11 tracks here--particularly "433," "Tabula Rasa," "Something More," and "The Silent Acquiescence of Millions"--recall Alice's aptitude for exploding sweet interludes with blistering metal. Singer and lyricist Jamie Stem also has Staley's misanthropic worldview. But Sinch are far from simple imitators. "Passive Resistor" finds Stem switching from a freaked-out rant to pensiveness, and on into an enraged rap. "Bitmap" is a strange, chiming instrumental that suddenly goes allVan Halen, while "The Arctic Ocean" is a literate requiem. Sinch could easily be described as art-rock and, were they less confrontational, might be the newCounting CrowsorStone Temple Pilots. But, since they're getting infinitely heavier with every release, it's easier to see them as Linkin Park's older, smarter, furious brothers.--Dominic Wills