At the Soundawn Red Square: We Come in Waves

With their debut release, Red Square: We Come in Waves, Italy's At the Soundawn ambitiously tackled the great songwriting task of combining progressive rock, post-metal, and indie rock into one fluid sound. Taking cues from Mogwai, Radiohead, Tool, and Isis, the band's style includes everything from warm, subdued melodies and ambience to slightly dissonant and expansive metallic eruptions. Touting a songwriting scope much larger than a number of acts in the post-metal wave, At the Soundawn certainly offers a unique addition to the genre. "Slight Variation" quickly builds upon layers of warm guitar work and gains momentum with the appearance of forceful, Rosetta-like vocals. The track gives way to swirling atmospherics and subtle singing eventually accompanied by the brief use of a horn section. "One Day Before" provides a short glimpse of rock melody, then suddenly changes gears in a metallic shift before settling into an indie rock-inspired section with syncopated bass lines and simple, but memorable guitar picking. The closer, "Frames of You," offers the record's best natural song progression, complete with a well-executed climax packed with thick riffs to bring Red Square to a satisfying close. However, the display of continuity and song development heard in "Frames of You" isn't replicated throughout the entirety of the record. At the Soundawn often makes the effort to inject an extra influence into an already cluttered track, resulting in sudden songwriting shifts that produce a slightly jarring feel. "One Day Before" advertises a number of fantastic instrumentally driven parts, but when combined to form a song, it borders on jumbled confusion rather than clever creativity. Many of the clean singing parts also leave a bit to be desired, as they fail to hold as strong of a presence as the record's emphatic screams. Additionally, Red Square is rather light on content with its seven tracks clocking in at less than 30 minutes. With so many rushed transitions, it leads the listener to wonder why the band didn't take a little more time to lengthen individual sections in songs to aid in a more fluid final result. At the Soundawn's Red Square is still a very intriguing record and will appeal to fans interested in hearing warm, Mogwai-like melodies mixed with an Isis-inspired metallic edge. But a desire to incorporate such a wide range of influences without a firm grasp on song development causes this record to feel slightly rushed and awkwardly transitioned. Red Square is an interesting debut for At the Soundawn, but a few kinks need to be worked out before the band can truly start to gain momentum. Bottom Line: Red Square: We Come in Waves advertises an attractive combination of Mogwai's ambient soundscapes, Radiohead's indie rock, and Isis' current brand of post-metal that will garner some attention from fans of innovative, instrumentally driven music. Although the record has some unsure songwriting transitions that hurt its overall flow, all of the elements are there to hint at the potential for future greatness. Only time and another record will tell.