Very few bands manage to last decades, and for the ones that do, its often easy to settle down and get a little too comfortable. But theres nothing comfortable about Devourer, the explosive new album from Cursive. The iconic Omaha group is known for their intensity, ambition, and execution, and has spent 30 years creating a bold discography thats defined as much by its cathartic sound as its weighty, challenging lyrical themes. And Devourer is as daring as ever. Full of intense and incisive songs, the album proves exactly why Cursive have been so influential and enduring-and why they remain so vital today. In the years since their 1995 formation, Cursive developed into one of the most important groups to emerge from the late-90s/early 00s moment when the lines between indie rock and post-hardcore began blurring into something altogether new. Albums like Domestica (2000) and The Ugly Organ (2003) became essential touchstones whose echoes can still be heard in new bands today. Devourer, as an expansive new double-album, examines humanitys bottomless capacity for consumption through a series of songs that act like vignettes, driven by frontman Tim Kashers never-ending appetite for both taking in and creating art. "I am obsessive about consuming the arts," he explains. "Music, film, literature. Ive come to recognize that I devour all of these art forms then, in turn, create my own versions of these things and spew them out onto the world. Its positive; youre part of an ecosystem. But I quickly recognized that the term, Devourer, may also embody something gnarly, sinister." Fans have come to expect such heady topics from Cursive, but Devourer sets a new standard. While Cursives music hasnt gotten any more comfortable, perhaps its being released into a world thats at least a little more shaped in their image. Devourer sounds urgent and fresh, the work of a band still experimenting, still hungering to find new creative heights. On album highlight "Consumers," the protagonist bemoans, "I saw our future and I want to go back." But Cursive are only moving forward.