November 1, 2010 • Throatruiner Records
I'm trying to clear my backlog of stuff I've had for a long time and never rated (e.g. the Vargr review not too long ago); today I tackle Lines Breaking Circles, an album that I've played to death because it didn't click, but which turns out to be pretty darn good when listened to critically.
As We Draw plays some sort of post-hardcore / sludge metal hybrid, a very diverse sort which is upbeat, complex, and quite heavy all at the same time. The band utilizes a lot of start-stop rhythms and time signature changes in addition to locking down some nice, consistent grooves. You won't find a lot of hooks or choruses here, though; it's mostly dissonant mathy riffs and crunchy melodic breakdowns instead, punctuated by the occasional melancholy clean bridge. It somehow turns out to be relatively catchy and sort-of-fun stuff with some great buildups and climaxes, if you can dig the gloomy atmospherics (I know I can).
However, even though apparently I've listened to this album nine times in the two years since its release (thanks last.fm), it still hasn't really stuck with me. It's familiar to me as I listen to it, but in the long run it's not particularly memorable. Maybe it's me—I have been listening to tons of this kind of music lately, and I could have just saturated myself to the point where it feels just like another everyday album that I happen to like. It's not really fair to the music, but that's how it goes.
But yeah, it's decent. I do still enjoy this album, and even though this style has been done to death I think As We Draw is one of the better bands to pull it off. If you can get past the iffy vocals, there's a really great sludge album in there.
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