When a band reunites after a long layoff, just getting the same people together doesn't mean you're going to get the same results. People change, life alters their perspective, and they don't necessarily want to go back to being the people they used to be, even if they still like working with their former bandmates. 24 years after Archers of Loaf released White Trash Heroes, the original four members have reunited and made a new album, 2022's Reason in Decline, and it's interesting to consider the ways they sound like the noisy, wiry indie kids they were and, just as importantly, the ways they seem very different. The strangled vocal affectations that were Eric Bachmann's signature are gone, and he sings with a clarity that makes him sound like a different man (in particular, the guy who sings in Crooked Fingers, his post-AoF band). Bachmann and fellow guitarist Eric Johnson aren't as obsessed with noisy clamor or deconstructing their tunes while they're playing them, and the effect is straightforward and significantly more melodic than the sound that defined Icky Mettle and All the Nation's Airports. Additionally, the rhythm section of bassist Matt Gentling and drummer Mark Price have lost little of their strength and precision, but they don't feel the need to push the songs or their bandmates harder than they wish to go, so the tension that was so much a part of Archers of Loaf has been significantly reduced. In interviews, Bachmann has said that he wasn't much concerned with recreating the sound Archers of Loaf summoned in the 1990s and was much more interested in tapping into the chemistry he had with three friends whom he loved and respected. That points to the strongest link between Archers of Loaf in the 1990s and the same band in 2022: the interplay between them feels familiar and effective, even if the individual contributions have changed. Bachmann and Johnson's guitar lines weave around one another in ways that show a clear link to the past, and Johnson's leads sometimes float around the melodies -- less chaotic than before but still in search of the nooks and crannies of these songs. And this band can still rock when the spirit and the message move them, particularly on "Screaming Undercover," "Breaking Even," and "Misinformation Age." In 1998, White Trash Heroes was the sound of Archers of Loaf running up against the boundaries of their own creative process and not sure what to do with it all. Fast forward 24 years, and Reason in Decline finds the same four musicians largely tossing away their old rule book and letting the simple act of trusted collaboration guide them. It takes them to some different places, but the destinations are still quite satisfying, and this is a brave, compelling, and surprisingly moving set of songs. They seem to be glad to be making this music, and we can only be glad they've chosen to share it with us. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

1		Human
2		Saturation and Light
3		Screaming Undercover
4		Mama Was a War Profiteer
5		Aimee
6		In the Surface Noise
7		Breaking Even
8		Misinformation Age
9		The Moment You End
10		War Is Wide Open

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