Customer Reviews

At the Soundless Dawn

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am absolutely stunned by this album.

If you like bands like Isis, Neurosis, Pelican, etc., you're going to like this band. However, the real treat here is for people like myself that really love bands like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and Godspeed, but still like the above metal bands.

The best way to describe this album is to take the heaviness of bands like Isis and cross it with the songwriting structures and sensibilities of a band like Explosions in the Sky. The result is an epic album of instrumental, soaring post post post rock/post hardcore.

I think over time this album may find its way into my top fifty favorite albums ever. I can't imagine a better album coming out this year. Best of the genre.

Reminiscent of both the 4ad instrumental outfit dif juz and mogwai, red sparowes, nonetheless, have a sound all their own--one which would seem to deny any categorization as such, most of all the catch all "metal", of which they are certainly not, despite the members associations in various bands. While there are a good many instumental bands that sound merely like music sans lyrics, red sparowes create soundscapes of intricate beauty, in a way that pulls you into a world as opposed to simply adding a soundtrack to this one. In other words, the music is enough, lyrics would simply seem gratuitous, superfluous, and overkill. The album contains seven tracks, but it would be wrong to call them songs. They are really pieces containing several vignettes, small works unto themselves, that evoke a spectrum of dreamy moodiness, agitated torpor, and utter wonder. In the context that the tracks appear to follow a poem--the song titles of which comprise this poem--gives this album an additional boost of artistic flavor. And while somewhat dark in tone, there is something joyful about this album. When it's over you will feel elated and edified, and ready for another go.

RED SPAROWES - At the Soundless Dawn
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Call it Post-Rock, Call it Instru-Metal, or just call it a satisfying aural experience. Regardless of what you'd like to classify this CD as I call it amazing...
I listen to stuff like: GYBE, Pelican, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai and the like... Basically out of those bands my biggest complaint is they seem too pretentious. (Well not so much Pelican, they are also amazing...) Red Sparowes, in addition to having their own sound, are also very creative, just look at the song titles... They are able to convey their albums message through a paragraph broken into 7 song titles:
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 Though 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 Sunlight Through the Shutters, as We Looked Back in Regret.
-One word: Genius.
Musically they are incredible... not only in the talent department but in their ability to flow gracefully through each song and into the next.
I know they may not really be bringing anything `new' to the table. Then again there is nothing wrong with mastering an `art' even if you didn't create it. Also remember this is their debut, they only have good things to look forward to.
(For fans of Isis, Neurosis, or the bands mentioned above.)
-4.75 Stars.


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While most of the user reviews have been glowing, I am surprised at the handful that accuse Red Sparowes of doing nothing "new". In the limited, narrow world of instrumental (or pseudo-instrumental) post-rock, the Red Sparowes certainly stand head over heels. This is heavy music without being heavy. The melodies are delicate and each composition is carefully crafted. These nuances are even more pronounced when they play live. It is inspiring for an old fart like myself to see kids up on a stage that are channeling a much different energy than the usual trucker-hat, tight pants, tiny t-shirt world of Arcade Fire or Devandra Sufjan Etc. This, in itself, is certainly "new". What Red Sparowes do that no other current band does (and if you can think of any, let me know) is channel the early spirit of '80s goth music. Many of their songs have a similar feel as to a lot of the grandiose introductions on the Cure's "Disintegration", which is, truly, a majestic and beautiful thing. I just hope, with as much energy as these guys have and as committed as they are to other, equally adventurous projects, that Red Sparowes are around for a long time.

I will start by mentioning that this is the only review i have ever written about a cd on any website. At The Soundless Dawn is that good. This cd transcends all boundaries, genres, and states of music listening conciousness with it's epic, sweeping melodies and gorgeous textures. The song titles are long because they are lines from a singular paragraph and meant to be read as such. With each song you can literally visualize the message disclosed in the paragraph line by line through the band's sonic prowess. Although this is a collective of musicians from several talented and innovative bands, this record sounds like nothing else i have ever heard...ever. I cannot stress how essential this record is if you are a fan of highly innovative instrumental music. The band does offer you a chance to listen to their unique sound by providing two free mp3 downloads on their finely designed website www.redsparowes.com
I hope this review helps anyone interested in purchasing this cd. thank you, and namaste`

When i heard Jeff Caxide [bass] formerly of Isis was forming this band, i was immediately interested. Even though he relocated shortly after recording this album and was replaced by Greg Burns [bass & steel pedal]. Anyway, Upon listening to Red Sparowes debut "At the Soundless Dawn," it easily became one of my favorites. I'd describe it as 2/3 Indie, 1/3 Metal with all kinds of influences in between. Now, don't get me wrong every track on here is brilliant, but when the album is listened too as a whole. It becomes an entity of its own, in other words i believe it has some very profound and intriguing slopes and hills. I've felt certain things listening to Red Sparowes i haven't with many other similar acts. Theres even the ingenious poetic aspect to the track titles, which im sure people have commented on already. I can't wait for the next release by these guys to see what direction they go in from here. I'd recommend this album to anyone who appreciates such acts as Isis, Russian Circles, Pelican, Callisto, Explosions in the Sky or even Tool.

I cannot stop listening to this album. The sound is very reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky or most Constellation Records bands for most parts of the songs. However, as every other reviewer has said, the band contains members of Neurosis and Isis, adding a heavier feel to the music.

Still, the music isnt extraordinarily heavy. In fact, you don't even have to think of it as heavy music if you dont want. If you keep the volume down it can be a pleasant blend of intricate melodies you can fall asleep to late at night. Turn the volume up and start thinking of it as heavy, and it can instantly change to liken itself to a more complex version of Neurosis and Isis. This is the only rock band I have ever been able to accomplish this phenomenon with.

A better-written and more intricate collection of songs than created by either of those bands, and a heavier sound than Explosions in the Sky (for the most part, some parts are VERY similar to songs off of EITS's 'Earth is Not A Cold Dead Place'), this album is sure to please. I highly recomment it for anyone who loves music. And by that I don't mean just a rock fan; I mean someone who likes to delve into the deeper and more complex pleasures or listening to music.

I took the day off of work to purchase this album, along with the new Iron & Wine. Both cds are exceptional and were both worth taking the day off for. The first thing I thought about when I heard this band was Isis meets Explosions in the Sky. Both of those bands are in my Top 10 List of all-time favorite bands. Do not just brush them off as another post rock clone, that, they are not.

The Isis similarities are due to the fact that Cliff Meyer and Jeff Caxide both reside in this band as well. The Explosions in the Sky similarity is probably due to the fact that one of the guys from Halifax Pier (of who I'm not too familiar with, but know the style of music they play,) is also a member of the band.

If you're a fan of the post-rock genre, this should be right up your alley. If you're a fan of the "post-metal" or whatever kind of category you feel like putting bands like Isis, Neurosis, Pelican, and Cult of Luna into you should be able to find some appreciation in this as well. Album of the year? Still too early to decide. But, thus far, it has earned that title.

While a little more rough around the edges than fellow post-rock instrumental band Saxon Shore, Red Sparowes have produced a simply amazing album. But just know what you're gonna listen to before you put this on. These guys are heavy and huge, intense and beautiful. As exciting live as they are recorded. There are extended sections of sound collages between songs. Say, 2 minutes of birds chirping, or crazy bass tones and delay effects. Experimental while at the same time being very focused. Simply a great album. Check it out and follow the trail to the rest of the world of instrumental post-rock. Enjoy!

When the concept of impending apocalypse is brought up as a theme for an album, People most likely are to assume that the album is a product of either, A.) An overly religious Christian metal band that has an over-zealous fixation on the book of Revelation or B.) A slightly satanic metal band that has spent one to many days under the influence of alcohol and illicit substances. This is not the case with Red Sparowes' intriguing debut "At The Soundless Dawn". Manifested in the song titles, which in turn are part of one single cohesive paragraph, the Concept is that of a "sixth extinction", the first of five previous extinctions to be caused by an actual species and not natural acts, that species is man. The concept itself is not explained in lyrics, for there aren't any; it is only mentioned in the paragraph, and through the music itself, which is full of dynamic dreamy and heavy elements. Red Sparowes utilizes interesting guitar and bass work, full of lush use of single note runs and thick layering of the three guitars and bass. A pedal steel can also be heard on a few of the tracks adding an interesting touch to the songs. The songs never run together, as much as they flow. "At The Soundless Dawn" is not an instrumental album that will put you to sleep due to boredom, it is an album full of so many changes and deviations that one can't help but be immersed in the experience. Red Sparowes' debut is probably one of the most accessible and intriguing instrumental albums of recent years. A truly rewarding musical experience awaits anyone who truly gives time into listening to this album as one complete entity, as it was meant to be.

Favorite Track: "Buildings Began to Stretch Wide Across the Sky, And the Air Filled..."


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