The Pitch: Chicago experimental, progressive metal act Without Waves release their first album with Prosthetic Records after 6 years together as a band. FFO Tardive Dyskinesia, Gojira
What I Like: There are some really excellent tracks on here, and conveying a wide array of ideas. "Sewing Together The Limbs" opens the album on a high note with progressive and djent overtones. The chorus, on the other hand, is a weird nostalgic fusion of later career Alice in Chains with Collective Soul. These guys have taken the eclectic and sometimes spastic ideas behind groups like Car Bomb, but subverted them to their own catchy, poppy influences. The vocal effects and some of the bouncy prog riffs on "EDMS" also recall the music of Gojira. Without Waves are clearly talented musicians who know their way around a time signature and like to walk the line between radio rock and borderline mathcore.
What I Don't Like: What is up with these 8 minute slow tracks? Let me clarify, for the hundredth time, that I have no problem whatsoever with clean singing, slow/quiet songs, or long songs in general. What I do have a problem with are songs that spend a lengthy runtime seemingly going nowhere. There are plenty of albums that pull off a drastic transition from heavy ragers to even total ambience, but that is not the case here. I was willing to hear out "Us Against," even after it totally killed my momentum. But it goes on...and on...and on; and with pretty much the same idea throughout. "Lost Art" and even the shorter "Never Know Quite Why" and "Fractals" are no better.
The Verdict: Lunar may be my most polarized listening experience yet. The heavier tracks are a blast and showcase really strong songwriting skills...but the others irritate me enough that I will skip them altogether from henceforth. Ultimately, I see enough merit in the overall product and the songs I do enjoy to give it the score above, but I'll be hoping for much more next time around.
Flight's Fav's: Sewing Together The Limbs, Victorian Punishment, EDMS