J.R. Robinson's Wrekmeister Harmonies project is known for releasing epic, often album-length pieces that build from tense, extraordinarily melancholy drones to skull-crushing doom metal, involving participation from upwards of 30 guest musicians from throughout the folk, metal, avant, and improv spheres. Arriving in 2016, Light Falls was a surprising turn toward concision and accessibility, with a pared-down cast (including members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor), shorter track lengths, and direct, intimate vocals. The Alone Rush is even more direct and far more personal, doing away with intense, maximal orchestrations and focusing solely on the group's core members, Robinson and Esther Shaw, as well as lone guest Thor Harris (formerly of Swans), who provides skeletal drums and occasional bursts of twisted clarinet. Following personal tragedies (including the death of a loved one and taking care of a terminally ill family member), Robinson and Shaw escaped Chicago and relocated to Astoria, Oregon in order to face the healing process together. The resulting songs that they composed are stark, haunting, and grim, recalling Michael Gira's Angels of Light while also bringing to mind shades of Current 93, Nick Cave, Scott Walker, and the Tindersticks. Robinson's deep, resonating vocals deliver unflinching lyrics of blindness, isolation, and pain; he sounds steady and strong rather than shaky or panic-stricken. Shaw's floating, ethereal vocals match her violin playing, except on "Behold! The Final Scream," where she erupts into a blood-curdling shriek, accompanied by crashing metal guitars. It's not the only heavy, intense moment on the album. "Forgive Yourself and Let Go" is a 14-minute dream suite that begins as a slow gothic drift before segueing into a hallucinatory midsection filled with swirling dialogue and sinister laughter, as well as whirlwind guitar scraping and a layer of icy keyboards. "The Alone Rush" is an immediate comedown from this, beginning with calm, shimmering keyboards and piano as well as sorrowful violin, eventually leading into a gorgeous resolution and ending with a bit of strange, distant chanting. Wrekmeister Harmonies' reduction in size hasn't diminished their ambitions or the sheer power or profundity of their music, even if it doesn't get quite as loud or punishing as before.