Hailing from San Francisco, post-rock trio The Drift combines bass, drums, guitar, and plenty of hypnotizing instrumental repetition to form a brooding, cathartic sound release worthy of multiple listens. All the ingredients are here for a thick stew of musical rumination: simple riffs that bloom into complex layers of echoes, chunky basslines that chug the rhythm along at a logical pace, and — most importantly — the absence of vocals.

Without a guiding voice, The Drift must create memorable moments all from scratch using their musical tools, and they do. “Luminous Friend” begins timidly with a jangly guitar bit that’s soon rounded out by lush percussion and weaves of additional guitar hums. Opener “Dark Passage” showcases one of The Drift’s strongest aspects, a big bass sound, before delving into the controlled chaos of spacey guitar whines. It almost sounds like a more percussive, solely instrumental Interpol because the two bands share one important quality: intensity.

Make no mistake. Blue Hour is intense, dark, sullen and substantial, like a busy city past midnight, but it’s also beautiful, as seen in the brief, chiming interlude “Bardo I” and closer “Fountain.” At 12 minutes, “Fountain” is certainly epic, but it showcases that The Drift doesn’t need all their tracks to be grandiose. In fact, the tune is a slow-release poison of drop-D tuning that infects your senses and, by the end, overwhelms with positivity and gorgeousness. The Drift might be a fitting soundtrack to a tempestuous boat ride, but “Fountain” brings it all back to shore safely and miraculously handsome.

(Temporary Residence Limited, PO Box 60097 Brooklyn, NY 11206)