Deafheaven have finally found themselves an area that is both surprising and comforting; Infinite Granite marks their first album that does not feel like an unsteady balance act.

Ordinary Corrupt Human Love marked a pivot towards post-rock and shoegaze for Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, where their metal-influenced music began being replaced with post-rock and shoegaze elements. Here they took this transition further; making this album one of their more radical departures yet successful efforts; offering up an atmosphere pleasant enough to lose yourself in while its structures proved adequate even if not immediately catchy.

At first listen, the songs don’t seem as heavy and distortion levels are slightly reduced compared to earlier releases; that is not meant as criticism but simply means there are fewer peaks that would leave listeners breathless; those that do exist – like acoustic opener “Neptune Raining Diamonds” and ambient closer “Mombasa” are some of the highlights on this album.

But ultimately it doesn’t differ too drastically from their typical output; there’s even a climax on “Mombasa” but not of the traditional Deafheaven variety; rather it features blackgaze meets 2nd wave shrieks accompanied by ethereal effects and vocals – more as an indication than any attempt at reinventing themselves, but it works effectively enough.