Author: Phil Freeman
Source: The Wire Aug 2005
Arc and Sender’s louder tracks (and some of the quiet ones, like “Squares and Circles”) owe quite a bit to Sonic Youth’s classic trilogy of Bad Moon Rising, Sister, and Evol. At the same time, the mellower tracks, with their ‘call and response’, also bear some reaces of hillbilly and folk found on the mid-80s albums by The Meat Puppets. …The album peaks in the middle, with “Preambulations”, featuring violinist Jennifer Hutt. Her stately drones contrast beautifully with the guitarists’ delicate plucking, and it’s a shame they leave her behind during the piece’s rip-roaring middle section. The last third of the track, a sea of disorienting, air-rippling drones seems to bring her back, but with everything humming loudly, it’s hard to tell. Nevertheless, this single gorgeous epic makes the album a must-hear.