The Eternals, Heavy International (side C)

I always find double albums tricky to navigate, as an artist's vision can spread in too many directions and become unclear, or can grow repetitive.  At an hour in duration, 2007's Heavy International is short for a double album, which might help to retain its consistency.  The consistency here is in the palette of dubby bass and cheap-sounding keyboards, and the careful mixes successfully glue these disparate elements together.  There's a nice balance of songs with overt vocal melodies and pop song structures, against more abstract forms which are still well-developed to retain attention.  Most songs feature excellent drumming from Tim Mulvenna, who was touring with the duo at the time, but his drums move seamlessly between the foreground (like on the propulsive opener "The Mix is So Bizarre") and the background (on the Ralph Records-like "It's Later Than You Think").  Damon Locks's vocals manage to vary widely in style without creating tension between tracks, possibly because the variation often happens within the same song.  "Crime", which features some of the album's most overt melodies in Locks's high tenor, juxtaposes this delivery with more rhythmic and chant-like sections.  Locks's cover collage captures the album's contrasts perfectly, with energy, beauty, darkness, and a bit of grit.