Sintering is a process of turning powder into material objects. Most often used in ceramics, sintered particles are fused together in a furnace below melting point. Sinter Songs was imagined in much the same way, slowly crackling and bubbling. The hometown garage-band-turned-Seattle-indie adds to their repertoire a quartet of smoldering compositions here. Though only a handful of new tracks, they boil beneath the surface — showcasing the outstanding progress the band has made over the last five years.

Percussion builds into “Stay Awake,” a cacophony that never really erupts but glides into a noisy nod toward Sonic Youth. The band shows its intelligence and progress in “A Stitch Couldn’t Save the World” without simmering into ashes. Sinter Songs proves that they are not the same band they’ve always been — but that they’re releasing more heat and more heavy anger as they age. But there are inklings of the band they’ve always been on Sinter Songs. The record winds down with a reverb orchestra on “Pretty Birds” — giving it a nice, Varbury-esque finish.

DOWNLOAD: “A Stitch Couldn’t Save the World”