War from a Harlots Mouth put forth a decent entry into the tech/death-influenced metal class with their debut, 2007's Transmetropolitan. As I put it, it wasn't "terribly exciting or memorable," but it got the job done. With the followup, In Shoals, the recording is crisper yet the music is disappointingly duller.

In Shoals scales back the band's technical wizardry just a pinch, sometimes focusing on composing a generally heavier affair. Opener "They Come in Shoals" opens with a fiery drum fill and then sort of a straightforward thrash beat. It's promising, and the more complex finger-picking a few minutes later is interesting, but by song's end it sounds like the band is just trying too hard to be brutal. There's something that's not entirely natural about it at times -- both here and at times on "The Certain Nothing," which otherwise dips into an awesome groove part.

Meanwhile, "Crooks at Your Door" is a good, solid heavy hardcore song not unlike, say, Rise and Fall...for the first 39 seconds, at least. The cool feel of "Justice from the Lips of the Highest Bidder" ensures the band still have a nice handle on the jazz thing, with a gradually increasing digital fuzz on the drums until the song just ends abruptly. It's also at the tail end of "What Happens in the District... (Paper Agents)." A quieter passage in eight-minute closer "Scully" proves to be one of the disc's more effective and suspense-building moments, leading into a throaty, vaguely Neurosis-esque finish.

Largely, however, War from a Harlots Mouth seem to be stretching their musical muscle a little more on In Shoals, but they don't quite have the most captivating handle on it quite yet.

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They Come in Shoals
No High Five for a C. Oward
Crooks at Your Door
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Errorism