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At The Soundawn - Red Square: We Come In Waves

Friday, 01 August 2008

Editor's rating

7.6

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Chris Alfano
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Friday, 01 August 2008
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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Slight Variations
02. Submerged
03. One Day Before
04. Phone Will
05. Sundown In Rome
06. Rain Falls
07. Frames Of You

Artist: At The Soundawn
Title: Red Square: We Come In Waves
Genre: Hardcore • Post-metal
Release Date: 09 June 2008
Record Label: Lifeforce Records
Format: Full-length
Country: Italy
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At The Soundawn - Red Square: We Come In Waves

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Editor review

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful


Overall rating (weighted)		7.6
Musicianship		7.0
Composition		8.0
Experimentation		8.0
Production		7.0
Value		8.0

A cursory listen to At the Soundawn's debut album might steer the average listener toward some rash conclusions. From most indications, it would appear that this Italian quintet graduated (with honors) from the "Isis-meets-Pelican-through-Cult Of Luna" school of hipster Neurosis worship. Granted, Red Square: We Come In Waves contains its fair share of post-metal shoe-gazing, so it's tough to fault those who have written it off. But repeated spins reveal an album that will either thrill or frustrate the more analytical listener.

Those who aren't easily thrown by moderate shifts in style (i.e., the former type) will undoubtedly find value in ATS's uncanny ability to rever their mentors ("Submerged", "Frames Of You") only to execute a quick U-turn into emo/indie rock territory ("One Day Before"). Other tracks see the band dabbling in avant-garde mysticism (e.g. the Kayo Dot-inspired saxophone on "Slight Variations") with vocal nods going toward traditional hardcore.

Listeners of the latter sort (i.e., the "frustrated" ones) might accuse At The Soundawn of failing to adopt a singular genre, thereby sounding "scattered" or "unfocused". After all, they appear to be merging several unrelated styles into a span of just under thirty minutes, which suggests an uncomfortable sense of musical claustrophobia. But somehow, the band avoids this snare by falling back on their skillful arrangements and songwriting acumen. With each listen, they sounds less convoluted and more self-directed. In fact, ATS manages to come out of this affair with both feet planted in metal-gaze territory, despite their embracing of variety and eclecticism.

While Red Square displays a level of maturity that is surprising for a debut album, it is perhaps less surprising that ATS spent three years creating it. The album's duration may seem a bit meager in light of the facts surrounding its conception, but the band's patience should be commended. Their artistic methods, however deliberate, have yielded a compelling record that would not have been possible any other way.

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