Discipline - Breadcrumbs [CD]/PRE

Detroit’s Discipline have hardly been prolific across their near 40-year career. After releasing three albums between 1988 and 1997, they took a long hiatus, only restarting with 2011’s To Shatter All Accord, followed by Captives Of The Wine Dark Sea in 2017. Now arrives Breadcrumbs, which sees bandleader Matthew Parmenter reunited with longtime bassist Mathew Kennedy and guitarist Chris Herin of Tiles. While it’s a band album, it’s clear that it’s mainly Parmenter’s work. Aside from his usual organ, piano and bursts of Mellotron, he also plays acoustic guitar and violin. His theatrical, 1970s-influenced vocal style has been toned down, while his innate sense of passion and melody remain. New drummer Henry Parmenter turns in a terrifically intricate performance, his snare work in particular brought to the fore by Brown’s delicate mix. The lyrics remain obtuse and poetic, inviting listener interpretation; but they seem split into two themes across the four vocal tracks.