AT THE SOUNDLESS DAWN

Red Sparowes are as interesting for their song titles as they are for their instrumental Post Rock/Math Rock music. Though I heard Every Red Heart Beats... first, I have enjoyed all of the Sparowes output. This one still sounded fresh to me, even after hearing ...Red Heart... Though this is pretty straightforward Post/Math Rock, it is, for me, like the rock, the center, the epitome of all that defines the sub-genre. It'd be difficult to pick out song favorites or album highlights. I like the power and urgency of much of the music here. Even the droning beginning portion of the eleven-minute "Mechanical Sounds Cascaded through the City Walls..." has this awesome power to it.

1. "Alone and Unaware, the Landscape Was Transformed in Front of Our Eyes" (8:28) 2. "Buildings Began to Stretch Wide Across the Sky, and the Air Filled with a Reddish Glow" (7:23) 3. "The Soundless Dawn Came Alive as Cities Began to Mark the Horizon" (4:19) 4. "Mechanical Sounds Cascaded Though the City Walls and Everyone Reveled in Their Ignorance" (11:20) (17.25/20) 5. "A Brief Moment of Clarity Broke Through the Deafening Hum, but It Was Too Late" (5:59) 6. "Our Happiest Days Slowly Began to Turn into Dust" (5:40) 7. "The Sixth Extinction Crept Up Slowly, Like Sunlight Through the Shutters, as We Looked Back in Regret" (19:32) Twelve minutes of some of the best Post Rock that I've ever heard and then (look at the title) silence. Four minutes of silence. And then industrial and nature sounds begin to pop up till the song's finish. Awesome! (37/40)

Total Time 62:41

I guess the first four songs are my favorites--because of their power. Songs five and six are pretty but almost like a peaceful respite. The nineteen minute finale is another great one, every bit as as powerful as the first four. Overall, this is a solid four star album.