With their reverb-drenched, melancholic guitars and somnolent rhythms, Dylan Carson's revived Earth always seemed the perfect audio accompaniment to a photographic journey through America's hinterland. But while the band's last release, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull, hymned sweeping expanses and giant skies, this, their sixth studio album, has a more claustrophobic, funereal feel – Robert Frank rather than Ansel Adams, perhaps. The addition of Lori Goldston's cello – her stringed hum a nod to Carson's drone-metal past – is the defining factor, bringing depth, substance and emotion to an already rich mix, particularly on the chilling and beautiful Father Midnight. This is Earth's best-realised work to date – stunning stuff.