THE COMPLEXITY OF LIGHT

Ah, the Children of Nova. A little known band that came out of nowhere with this EP and surprised everyone that listened to it. The six songs here are some of the best compositions I've ever heard, bringing forth creativity, yet comfort. It's rather difficult to describe their particular brand of music, but it's not heavy enough for metal, or symphonic enough to be... uh... symphonic. They seem to be influenced greatly by The Mars Volta and Coheed and Cambria, and that's also a good way to describe their sound.

The vocals are most easily described by simply comparing them to the Mars Volta. The singer has a rather high range, and remains there the whole time, occasionally breaking out the falsetto vocals to impress. The lyrics tell of a complicated tale, reminding me of 2112 or Coheed and Cambria. In any case, the vocalist here provides a fantastic clean and beautiful voice to carry out the themes of the album.

The instrumentation is even more interesting. I am a drummer, so I always pay special attention to the drum tracks of an album. That said, the Children of Nova drummer is brilliant. He handles complex rhythms, odd timing, fast drumming, slow drumming, and everything in between with an excessive amount of grace and style. Nothing he does sounds out of place, yet all of it impresses. The Complexity of Light and We Collide are great show cases for his drumming. The rest of the band gives great performances as well. This is a "prog" band so complex timing and rhythm is used. However, unlike many bands, it doesn't feel forced. When the band goes out of 4/4 it isn't jarring or even noticeable. They're smooth, and it all works together.

As I said earlier, many people will describe this band as a mix between The Mars Volta and Coheed. I think Children of Nova are better then either of those bands, and I can't wait for their full album release, coming fall 2011. I encourage everyone to buy this EP, because not only is it full of 6 masterful songs, but it also will help out this new artists, whom deserve to be heard.