The Eternals, Approaching the Energy Field (side A)

On 2007's Heavy International, the Eternals emphasized their powerful rhythm section the most of any of their albums.  2011's Approaching the Energy Field marks something of a return to the electronic focus of their early 12"s.  Tim Mulvenna returns to drum on a few songs, but Wayne seems to play more keyboards and even guitar than bass this time, and it pulls the record in a much more synthetic direction.  The songs are dance-y without being bass-heavy, with lots of interesting detail that comes at least vaguely closer to hip-hop than the group's recent albums.  Damon's vocals, of course, are far more melodic and song-like than particularly resembling rap, even when they take on a sort of spoken quality.  Wayne handled all of the recording this time, and while it sounds a bit primitive (better mastering would help), it almost magically captures the ideas and the music.  The cover is a collage of photographs rather than drawings, a departure from the group's earlier albums.