UNTIL SUNRISE

The wave of post-rock music had been recently getting a little ridiculous. Bands like Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Do Say Make Think are good, and so is Until Sunrise, but albums such as these really take a good hour to waste and the willingness to subject yourself to an hour of sub-par grade ambient rock music. True, some songs on the album can be seen as enjoyable, but most ramble on into the obscurity from effected guitars and overly complex drums.

Sunset, the opening track, can be seen as one of the best on the album. It takes quite a while for the album to open, but when it does the song soars above the simple ambient rock that the majority of the album encompasses.

Pink is another good track, but, despite the fact that I love long songs, the 10 minute length of this song is tedious. The musicianship could be cleaned up also, but musically the track is just about par. Recommendations for this track: simplify, simplify, simplify: complex fast solos and overly difficult drumlines don't work when they can't be played properly.

Midnight is a little weaker, although it is much shorter and your attention won't wander into oblivion over the 4 minutes. The song gets interesting at some points, although the drumlines again could be simplified.

Insomnia is an odd change of pace for the album which is welcome in the monotony of overly extended notes and ambiance. It has a distinct funky quality, although the mastering is a little sub par, but that can be ignored, seeing as it is a home recording. Although, transitions between feels are very choppy and harsh. And again, the drumlines are way too bombastic for the music.

As the City Quietly Sleeps is good, but had more downsides than upsides. The length is extreme but acceptable, especially for this kind of music. The transition into the heavier more interesting sections doesn't take an obnoxious amount of time and the more bombastic sections aren't too difficult to listen to, although they are very odd mixed in with this type of music. Soloing in this song is more acceptable and the musicianship had improved.

A Maudlin Interlude is a very much needed break from the post-rock hosh posh with a much better mastered acoustic piece that is a nice happy variety to the music.

Sunrise is a much darker and disturbing song. In my opinion, it is one of the better songs on the album, where the overly bombastic drumlines are somewhat nice behind the soaring guitars.

First Sign of Summer is similar to the Interlude, a nice well mastered somewhat acoustic song with distinguishable melody and harmony that adds a nice touch to the album.

Nostalgic Moment is a very nice ending to a very sub-par album. The piano is a nice addition to the mainly ambient guitar album. The melodic work with the piano is creative and enjoyable amongst bombastic drums and still ambient guitar.

ALBUM OVERALL: A very sub-par album. I was under the impression that I had received the "remastered" edition of each song... and if this is true, I would never want to hear the original, because these songs are horrible mastered. A recommendation for the release: get someone who remotely knows what they are doing to record you, get simpler more workable drumlines (you don't need to constantly show off) and make more interesting tracks that are different from each other, such as the interludes and Insomnia. I feel bad giving such a bad review to a new band, but there is way too much room for improvement. I'm hoping for a better album in a year or two. 2- stars.

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