Atlanta-based band O’Brother have released their third LP—and first in three years— Endless Light, an ambient powerhouse of an album that immerses the listener into a dark, yet graceful journey through dream-like sequences.

I initially wasn’t sure what to expect, despite the band’s proven track record with their debut album Garden Window and follow-up Disillusion (as well as their 2009 EP The Death of Day). O’Brother is known for a sludgy, experimental, ambient style of music that has been a hallmark of their previous two records.

Endless Light is a bold move by the band as they begin to move away from the heaviness of their last two LPs toward something unique that sounds like no other band out there. No one can mimic or come close to the signature sound these five guys create. O’Brother clearly has become a force to be reckoned with.

Their latest effort is a more toned down version of their sound, consisting of a soft/loud song structure, heavy guitars and drums, and walls of noise  produced by three layers of guitars ( Tanner Merritt, Johnny Dang, and Jordan McGhin) but are not as heavy as their previous two LPs.

The gracefulness and emotion in these songs is captivating and shows that O’Brother has the ability to explore different sounds yet still please fans with a style that clearly reflects who they are.

The album opens with the thunderous “Slow Sin,” a beautifully dark song that seems eerie at times with the heavy and pounding drum beat that opens the track and feels almost like a chant. The song then moves into a groove that is chaotic yet haunting at the same time as Mr. Merritt delivers vocals that set up recurring themes.

“Slow Sin” flows seamlessly into the previously released “Your Move,” one of the more traditional O’Brother-sounding songs with heavy guitars and that soft/loud structure. The album unveils a few very hard-hitting songs such as “Deconstruct” and “Bloodlines” (both also previously released) which are placed perfectly on the LP and serve up some really sweet grooves with Mr. Merritt screaming “I wanna bathe in the glory of that dreadful sound, you said you wanted in? Well you’ve got access now” on the latter.

“Complicated End Times,” a song that starts with a wall of fuzzy guitar and instantly breaks into a mesmerizing fast-paced groove, grabs the listener almost by surprise. It feels uneasy yet you can’t help but sway to the beautiful groove.

“Burn” is a thundering song that only O’Brother could achieve. Its soft beginning displays the range in Mr. Merritt’s vocals and shows that O’Brother can make even the quietest parts of the album pack a serious punch.

It leads to an ending with heavy drums and droning guitars as Mr. Merritt repeatedly sings with a desperate and fed-up tone, “I wanna watch it all burn.” O’Brother has a knack for beautifully combining eerie, symphonic parts with hard-hitting, head-banging rock music and “Burn” is the perfect example of this.

The seven-minute closing track “Realm of the Physical” ends with a long sequence of haunting sounds that allows listeners to catch their collective breath and take in what they just heard from the album in its entirety.

Mr. Merritt’s writing is as strong as it’s ever been on this record. The album is filled with vivid but abstract imagery that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The recurring motifs include evocative references to blood, fire, destruction, and reconstruction.

The title track “Endless Light” reinforces these themes immensely, including the lines: “Left my body to be so I might find the home that I made/Enter my blood and raise me up that I may be remade in light and burst apart.”

That said, it certainly isn’t a record you just listen to once and get everything immediately. After the first listen, you will be left wondering and questioning. It requires heightened focus—and if you give it, you will be left the best listening experience you’ve likely had in awhile.