Red Sparowes – At the Soundless Dawn
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At the Soundless Dawn Red Sparowes Release: February 22, 2005 Neurot Recordings |
Alone and unaware, the landscape was transformed in front of our eyes. Buildings began to stretch wide across the sky and the air filled with a reddish glow. The soundless dawn came alive as cities began to mark the horizon. Mechanical sounds cascaded through the city walls and everyone reveled in their ignorance. A brief moment of clarity broke through the deafening hum but it was too late. Our happiest days slowly began to turn into dust. The sixth extinction crept up slowly like the sunlight through the shutters as we looked back in regret.
Imagine listening to that paragraph. Ignore the words; envisage a score to the events. What you’re hearing is Red Sparowes first release At the Soundless Dawn.
The band comprises of Bryant Clifford Meyer on guitar/vocals (Isis), Jeff Caxide on bass/guitar (Isis), Josh Graham on guitar/vocals (Neurosis visuals and acclaimed video director), Greg Burns on bass and pedal steel (also of Temporary Residence dark chamber folk sextet Halifax Pier) and Dana Berkowitz on drums (formerly of Converge offshoot The Cignal).
At the Soundless Dawn must have been a fete. Accomplishing a sound encompassing the entire rock gamut and never revealing an audible vocal would be too much for many musicians. A sound like that can fall quickly into chaos, parody, or simple posturing. Red Sparowes suffers from none of these short-comings. The band focuses less on imitation and more on disposition. Yet the atmosphere on At the Soundless Dawn is far from consistent. In one hour and 2 minutes Red Sparowes take the listener on a voyage as strong, disorderly, calming, and recollecting as the 7 sentences contained in the above paragraph (which happen to also be the titles of the 7 tracks).
February 22, 2005 At the Soundless Dawn will hit the streets. I urge you to give it a listen. For fans of Neurot Recordings, Sparowes treads on familiar soil. For the Neurosis, Isis, Tarentel, Grails, etc… virgins in our midst Red Sparowes is a great place to start. Work backwards from there.
You and those advanced copies!! I love Isis, so now I’m really curious to hear this new album. Only three more weeks, haha!
I’ve been waiting for some word on this album. I’ve been really excited to hear what they have to offer and, from what you’ve described, it sounds pretty amazing. Thanks.
I picked up this album a few days ago and have a bit to add to this review. I think my wife put it best when she said that Red Sparowes release sounds like the Cure’s “Disintegration” if the songs never had lyrics or a discernable structure. I agree wholeheartedly with this. This album is truly a work of excellent skill and artistry. I particularly love the bass work on track #2. Astounding.