This one’s a trip. The Stills have been particularly ominous in this Oceans Will Rise era. And come to think of it, the album title’s apocalyptic undertones should have been an initial hint. Their MySpace update before the record’s release about “scraping and gouging frantic, ripping through thick black unbelievable earth” could have been another. More? The LP’s lead video for “Snakecharming The Masses” was essentially an extended shot of a slowly burning house. Dark times. So no surprise, this one’s pretty evil, too — the guys morphing into devils and werewolves as they taunt and beat each other with the track’s lyrics — but the comic-book cinematography, and the gratuitous shots of Brendan Canning loving the Stills at a mixing board, give it all a touch of funny. Call it a black comedy.

Oceans Will Rise is out via Arts & Crafts.