“All of the bands I play in – Thousand Foot Whale Claw, Survive, and Troller – have postponed releases scheduled for 2020.” So revealed Austin triple threat Adam Jones: Survive member, Holodeck Records owner, and Troller keymaster/programmer/analog synthesist. Presumably part and parcel of said backlog, Drain proves well worth the pandemically induced wait. Third full-length and first for Philly foundry Relapse Records, the homegrown triumvirates’ dark- and light-wave electro indie bristles and drones light-years more liquid than previously. 2012 debut Troller glowered eerie arias of millennial unease: oscillating, echoing, brooding. Four years on, Graphic etched an exponentially cohesive seismography: bigger, grander, far more disturbing. Drain synthesizes a third-time-charm summit. Singer/bassist Amber Star-Goers and guitarist Justin Star-Goers stake that plateau ethereally, aggressively – seamlessly. Opener “Victim” lands like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, all wind and light and storm, both crushing and cushioning. “Lust in Us” then floats a watery condensation atop an almost girlish delivery in contrast to the album’s overall noirish bent. Further variation, “Into Dust” coughs up heatstroke tones. ASG’s vocal guises manifest more aural looks than Austin’s former Lucy in Disguise, every modulation pitching a different emotional blush. The dreamy title (tidal) track bristles Portishead and ebbs Björk, another load-bearing cut upscaling a midcentury modern build into new millennial modern, a house of cinematic dreams: sleek, steely, stately.

Troller

Drain (Relapse)

This article appears in May 26 • 2023.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.