For a debut, Harbored Mantras is impressively consistent. Water Borders, the San Francisco-based duo of Amitai Heller and Loric Sih, have clearly put lots of thought and effort into honing their sound-- a dark, gothic mix of shadowy synths, dogmatic beats, and disembodied vocals. Their ghostly style touches on the industrial haunts of Coil as well as the mysterious vibes of various dance and techno sub-genres. It's not a wide range of reference points, but the limited palate helps give Water Borders focus. There are none of the random misfires or gratuitous left turns here that can mar debut albums.
Where Harbored Mantras does sound like a first try is in its lack of surprise. Water Borders haven't yet figured out how to insert substantial variety into such a well-defined sound. As the album progresses, consistency becomes a straitjacket. The duo seems so unwilling to break its own rules that it rarely bends them. This is most apparent in the vocals, which can be evocatively chilly, but often sound generic-- like a diluted Peter Murphy or Andrew Eldritch-- and more concerned with matching the music than adding something unique to it. The result is that you've heard everything Water Borders do long before Harbored Mantras is over.
Still, every track has something interesting to offer. At their best, like on the rattling "Bad Ethos", simple repetition becomes hypnotic mantra, evoking the stunning séances of Forest Swords. The duo builds deep layers of mood, giving Harbored Mantras the feel of an infinite cave, which can be both absorbing and suffocating. But they fare best when their air-shaking beats thrust through those layers. Take the Gang Gang Dance-like ritual "Feasting on Mongeese", or the spooky tribalism of "Antechamber", which sounds like the Residents doing techno. In both cases, rhythm proves to be an eminently sturdy spine. Perhaps that's what will ultimately allow Water Borders to stretch their sound: Their beats are solid and captivating enough that they should be able to expand sonically without surrendering their stable core.
