LOCUST, THE- "Plague Soundscapes" LP

Backed by Alex Newport's pristine, assured production, this album packs 23 tracks into roughly the same duration - layering abrupt, fleeting shifts, bursts of brief, ethereal riffs, and howling vocals onto chaotic keyboards that seem both alien and oddly organic. It's tense and serpentine, and above all, eerily apocalyptic - a sentiment that resonates even more strongly now. ANTI / Epitaph Records.