From Bandcamp, "Smog" marks a profound evolution for the band, embracing denser, more atmospheric compositions that add new layers of depth to their monolithically heavy sound. Prepare to be engulfed in "Smog" and experience sonic devastation unlike anything ABSORB has done before.” The album has three long songs, and “Dissociated” is first. It begins with feedback and dissonance, followed by a weighted, hopeless sound, thick with down-tuned guitars, heavy bass strikes, and tortured vocals. Dissociation is a mental process where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity, and that is exactly the  feeling that I get from the music.

Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution; a bi-product of industry and progress. The song is desperate, heavy, slow, and sludgy, and you feel like you have been snared in quicksand, and no one is around to help. The vocals grow increasingly hateful as the song moves along, but I am unsure if they are pleas of hopelessness, frustration, or anger. “Cecilia” closes the album. A hopelessly slow grind combine with guttural vocals that sound one mountain range over, and out of reach, yet their roar pierces the sky and spreads throughout the lands. Angrier tones pick up around the half-way mark, but as it heads towards the finish line, it piles more and more misfortune on your head, to the point where you are smothered from it.

My only real complaint about the album is that it is too short. Just when I began to make peace with the dreadful mood, it was over. Still, if you can survive these three heart-piercing songs, you have real constitution. They beat you over the head when you are already down for the count, mercilessly.