Salt Lake City’s SUBROSA have been steadily crafting interesting material for years now with several independent releases under their belts, but their third full length sees the band take their ambitious work to new heights with No Help for the Mighty Ones. While the band’s previous album Strega was an exercise in fuzzed out guitar tones colliding with elegant shoegazing atmospherics, the band’s latest takes the listener on a much more complete musical journey. Violinists Sarah Pendelton and Kim Pack weave a twisting path of strings that is both elegant and serene while maintaining a haunting presence throughout the course of the album. The new rhythm section of Zack Hatsis and Dave Jones also provide a sturdy, rock solid foundation for the band’s involved, often detailed song structures. Meanwhile songstress Rebecca Vernon’s vocals take the listener on a path less traveled as she tells dark tales of literary folklore that at times evoke some of Edgar Allan Poe’s best qualities. Her guitar work is simple, yet refined and thoughtful, designing structures that serve as creative backdrops for her interesting lyrical explorations and story telling. In taking a different approach off the beaten path, SUBROSA’s No Help for the Mighty Ones rewards its listeners with one of the more refreshing and original musical pieces to come from the metal underground this year. (Profound Lore Records)