Band : At The Soundawn

Album title : Red Square – We Come In Waves

Label : Lifeforce

Distributor : Suburban

Release date : 28/04/2008

Release : CD

Playing in several kinds of bands (both Metal and Hardcore) of the Modena (Italy) region, singer Mirco Migliori , guitarists Matteo Bassoli and Andrea Vollante , bassist Alessio Bellotto , and drummer Enrico Calvano first got together for the first time in 2000, just to hang out and have fun together, and also to do something different musically.

As their musical tastes grew, so they discovered different sonic soundscapes within the project, which slowly began to grow quite more serious, and by 2005 the guys had found something they absolutely wanted tt continue working on. Just to have a personal tool to be able to work with, they recorded 5 songs in a one-day session during 2005. A year later they were again in the studio, this time to record the 7 tracks which were to make the track-list for the current mini-album.

When trying to describe this quintet's music, a generalisation like "Post-Hardcore" thrown itself up, with great progressive runs to create somewhat of an hypnotic drone effect which alternates from controled aggression to much calmer, almost Ambient behaviour...not afraid to call in the help of a trumpet in two of the songs (album opener "Slight Variations" and the equally beautiful "Phone Will" ). Obviously, the vocals vary along with the musical aggression, alternation from screamed aggressive to harmonic calm. The label from their side suggests " At The Soundawn effortlessly commands the sounds of Mogwai and Tool while combining them with the Hardcore urgency of Shai Hulud and the dynamic Indie Rock power of Radiohead . The musical output created is poised to impress and leave the listener asking for nothing more".

Well, I'm impressed allright, but I àm asking for more, lóts more of At The Soundawn music! With only 29 minutes of duration, it takes an imaginative mind (or the commercial feelings of a label) to call Red Square: We Come In Waves a full-length, but at least one is able to listen to the album twice an hour, which makes for a rather quick understanding of the material. Surf to myspace.com/atthesoundawn for mp3-files of exactly the above mentioned tracks with the trumpet in...and become intoxicated with the music. Gosh...with music like that, who needs drugs to feel incredible dizzy but good, oh so good! Not surprisingly, yet another addition to my list of albums I won't do without this year!

98/100

Tony.