Oh, this one is something special. Howling Giant hearken back to the best of the (oft-maligned) music of the 1990s, to a time when vocal melodies mattered. Deeply. Their Groovy, Stoney sound hangs in the air like smoke, invoking fuzzy power chord riffs from across time, space, and Sabbath. Clever, canny songwriting choices throughout subvert expectations, coloring outside the lines without completely ruining the picture.

Their obvious modern comparison is Baroness. This is irrefutable; "Ghosts in the Well" sounds an awful lot like "Steel That Sleeps the Eye" from one of Baroness's past albums (the one with the color in its name). But I also draw connections to Helmet, Torche, Lo-Pan, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Swervedriver, and My Diligence, mainly for the vocals.
There are a bunch of great moments throughout, especially in sections of "Nomad," "The Orb," "Comet Rider," and "Cybermancer and the Doomsday Express" (actual title). The truly timeless part happens in the middle of "The River Guide." It's not even the entire song, just when the mediocre verses drop out, leaving the listener floating cloudlike above the bridge, adrift with the dreamy tempo and spoken dialogue. It's just a lovely moment. No matter where you are, what you're doing, who's talking, you'll stop to listen here. I can compare it to that similar moment from Radiohead's "Blow Out," or Morphine's "Empty Box," but it's really its own scene. And goddamn, it's majestic. I'll be back for many, many re-listens.