As We Draw - Lines Breaking Circles

punk inspired post-metal from France. some would simply collapse the aforementioned genres into "post-hardcore", and there would be a degree of validity to that. however, in an effort to paint a clearer picture, i'd say these guys are more along the lines of CELESTE, in that no one genre easily defines their sound. it's heavy, it's really angry and screamy, and no song breaches the 7 minute mark. it's an especially impressive effort considering it is their debut release. LP packaging looks amazing. seriously considering adding it to my collection, as the fizzle and pops would accompany the feel of this album quite nicely. includes lyrics that elaborate on their relation to the artwork.

the most interesting aspect(s) of this album - beyond the awesome vinyl format/package - are the vocals and the guitar tones. the vocals have somewhat of a CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE pattern to them. not necessarily call-and-response style, but pretty evenly divided and often overlapping scratchy skramz with guttural/more enunciated yells. as for the guitars, they lay down quite an atmospheric sound while remaining really crisp and clear.

i think they probably have a plethora of peddles/effects to aid in this, because they certainly don't rely on heavy, down-tuned chords or crushing distortion. granted, my guitar knowledge is limited (and i'm too lazy/not invested enough to look through pictures), but it sounds like a Gibson SG to me. i don't know how helpful that is to you, the reader, but it makes sense to me so i'm going with it. there's a lot of tapping riffs and hallway/reverb stuff going on, but when they want to make it more driving AWD does just fine. heavily distorted, metallic yet crusty bass aids in these efforts as well.

rhythmically, there are no abrupt shifts in either time signature or tempo, which i find suits this overall style of music better. it finds other ways of staying interesting, though. mostly through subtle snare taps, dynamic changes (lots), and ear piercing cymbal crashes. there's also occasional group vocals and group singing, which being as partial to classic hardcore as i am, i enjoy quite a bit. and it definitely helps keep this record unique and relatively unpredictable. i kind of get bored sometimes listening to sludge or post-metal where the vocals have one sound/style/technique that persists throughout.

in short, AWD has undoubtedly made an indelible mark on this recently popularized sound, and will probably only continue to get better and gain huge recognition worldwide. this isn't one of those bands you here, listen to for a month and then occasionally name drop. they're not a reference point, they're damn good. an instant classic that waaaay more people should be getting into.

favorite tracks: Sin of Addiction, Shield, Fault Lines, Draft, Scum of the Earth.

last.fm here and myspace link in the post title.

CAN YOU DIG IT?!