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Initially released earlier this year on the now defunct Slowdime label, Carousel has been rescued from its premature PR death and reissued under the Kimchee imprint. Victory at Sea seduces listeners with droning compositions that add a touch of math rock to systematic blasts of moroseness. With the addition of drumming virtuoso Fin Moore, who replaced Swirlie Christina Files in 2000, this Boston outfit has come into its prime, providing a melancholy musical backdrop for cold New England nights. Vocalist Mona is a far cry from her days screaming in noise-rock outfit Spore as she varies from dirgelike melodies to despondent phrasings that accent Victory at Sea's tumultuous voyages through the musical waters of minor-key rock. Carousel's somber offerings range from the emotional whirlpool of "The Blizzard of '78" to the sinewy "Mermaid" with its peppery bass lines and complex percussive work. Mona's imperfect pitch and off-key notes may strike some as musically deficient, but their caliginous presence separates Victory at Sea's tunes from the hordes of monotonal math rockers. This Boston threesome may have an imitative sound that borrows from the Slint-styled school of varying tempos and pitches, but its innovation is instead found in the mercurial messages that spear your heart with recollections of past pain, suffering and eventual emotional resolutions. -- Andrew Magilow
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