Review Text
Box of Breath finds Hazmat Modine deep in command of their self-created idiom swimming in international waters but never far from the American coast. Malian riffs infuse with Mississippi mud and Tin Pan Alley, stretching the band's roots aesthetic to include notes of hibiscus and the buzz of mosquitos. There are songs about death, striving, hoarding, time and the march of dementia. Soaring horns and wailing harmonica are joined by the clang of modern India and the murmur of China, a distillation of Hazmat Modine's travels through time, place and sound. Throughout, the CD weaves lyrics that reflect on the times and troubles of the world we currently live in. This is the bands most mature and original album yet, something so Hazmatian that it needs it's own genre to define it. Familiar yet un-trodden, Box of Breath celebrates humanity and mortality. Features special guest musicians Balla Kouyate, Mazz Swift, Mark Stewart, Charlie Burnham & Son of Dave.
