Fans looking for the newest chapter in Attrition's hybrid of neoclassical goth and muscular, clean industrial dance may be somewhat frustrated by The Jeopardy Maze, the band's 1999 offering and its 11th full-length overall. For one thing, the industrial dance has been softened into a lighter, electronica feel. Julia Waller's operatic glossolalia, formerly the acute accent on Martin Bowes's gruff vocals, feels anchorless. Franck Dematteis's stirring viola, used to mournful yet melodic effect on discs like 3 Arms and a Dead Cert and Étude, is here often atonal. Touches of the old sound peek out (particularly on the sleek "Waste Not, Want...More" and the smoldering "The Illuminator," the disc's highlight), but Bowes is clearly more interested in experimentation here, stretching out the textural landscape of his trademark sound (much the way he did on This Death House and Ephemera). Ambient string-and-keyboard compositions spiked with spoken-word samples take up quite a bit of space, resulting in a creepy, soundtrackish work with fewer "songs" than we're used to. Ultimately perhaps not the most memorable of Attrition discs, but an interesting listen nonetheless. --Steve Landau
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