When I first listened to “As Through Collision” in 2020, I heard a band that was just a little behind their influences. Slint, Swans and their Flenser alumni’s influence was blocking them from becoming something truly original. With “The Lamb As Effigy” it feels like hearing the strengthening of bones through brutal and bloody reinforcement. Sprain uses their influences as a stepping stone now, making a album as difficult to get through as it is to stop listening.
