Sic Alps continue the trend of loud, lo-fi garage rock acts turned inward-focused, quiet songwriters. It's worked well for a few acts, but few have done an entire album full of that change. Thee Oh Sees have a handful of new songs on their latest album that are along the same vein, as well as the Fresh and Onlys. Sic Alps sees it all the way through, with their full album of stripped-down, mellower tunes. It works quite well for them, I must say.
This tune, "Glyphs," is one of the nosier songs on the album. It's got a pinch of their old, fuzzy sound, but it's muted enough to not really stand out past the softer sounds they incorporate into the album. It reminds me of the self-titled Velvet Underground album. I'm really impressed with it, and had I really explored it more last year I might have put it up with the top albums of 2012.