Thursday the 18th (of February): The Contortionist - Cortical

     I'm only going back a couple of years for this Throwback Thursday post, but that doesn't make it any less of a corker. Yes, I just said corker. I'm old. And apparently British inside. Any road, we're headed back to 2012 for a track from The Contortionist's sophomore LP Intrinsic.

     "Cortical" is a great example of the kind of progressive metal blend happening on Intrinsic -- soft synthwaves lapping up against angular space djent beaches. This song finds itself in a weird little groove by the end of it, with a sort of jazzy, down-tempo lead going over it, and it's all these disparate influences that seem to make a Contortionist record, cropping up here and there. Intrinsic is a different beast than 2010's Exoplanet, and different still from 2014's Language, so what new material from these guys would sound like is anyone's guess. But hey, that's a two-year album cycle right there, so maybe 2016 will see some new stuff, and a new twist, from The Contortionist.

Thursday: The Contortionist - Oscillator

     See? This is the kind of pace that needs to happen to get this ship back on track (mixed metaphor = on purpose, lit wonks). Let's keep it going with a little Throwback Thursday action, albeit a shortish kind of throw.

     The Contortionist has undergone quite a transition over the course of three albums, but many fans still stand by 2010's debut Exoplanet as the band's high point. I don't know that I'm one of those (sophomore disc Intrinsic is probably still my favourite from the band's catalogue) but I definitely can appreciate The Contortionist's heavier roots.

     To that end, let's throw it back five years for "Oscillator" from Exoplanet, a meaty mid-album number that perfectly sums up what The Contortionist were up to way back when. It's only a half-decade throwback, but it still counts, right?

The Contortionist - Vessel

     Were I ever to be in some bizarre situation in which under threat of physical violence I'm forced to decide whether I prefer The Contortionist's first disc Exoplanet over their sophomore Intrinsic, or vice verse, I don't know what I'd say.

     One the one hand, Intrinsic is a refinement of what The Contortionist does, an evolutionary step forward, a whole greater than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, Exoplanet has songs like my pick for today. If "Vessel" doesn't make you wish The Contortionist would release a new record already, I don't know what will.

Song of the Day: The Contortionist - Flourish

     I jumped on the The Contortionist bandwagon with last year's Intrinsic, but I recently picked up a copy of their debut disc Exoplanet, and I can see now that these guys are an example of a band that really has evolved and expanded their sound.