For me, what is most alluring about the prospect of studio performance is the chance to perfect every aspect of a song to the minutest detail.  Given the chance, I would be most suspect to overproduce a song and make it completely impossible to perform live without eight or nine musicians each switching between three instruments on stage.  Of course, when funds run low, a band may find their studio time limited, with only a day or two to record an entire album.  Or perhaps they settle for lesser quality recording.  In the case of In the Wake of Giants, I fear that one of these two may have happened due to the clear imperfections of their performances, regardless of how well the music may be composed.

Luckily, opener “At the Edge of the Sea” is devoid of these problems and shows the true talent of this young band from Pittsburgh.  Like most bands of their style, they rely on the contrast in their compositions and they exploit these dynamics masterfully, with beautifully quiet guitar interludes building to huge chords.  Nothing is particularly original or noteworthy about the composition, but it is performed extremely well.  Rhythmically, the band nearly falls apart in the middle of “In a Mirror, Broken.”  The drummer’s fills are just too busy for the context of the song, and his sense of tempo pushes and pulls ever so slightly.  Transitions between instrumentation (particularly at the section about four minutes into the song) do not fit together as they should.  However, the most blatant mistake comes on “To Challenge the Cult of Speed,” as it is the most rhythmically complex song.  Everything fits together until, once again, the drum fills get too complex and the sense of time is compromised.  At a section of technicality that sounds almost like an excerpt from The Fall of Troy, the guitar and bass play a duet of constant eighth notes, but they do not line up together.  Errors such as these run rampant throughout the album, a shame compared to the excellent composition in each song.

Ignoring these errors and judging solely based on composition and intent, In the Wake of Giant’s debut shows great promise.  “A Compromise of Integrity” is the album’s best song by far, sporting an incredibly atmospheric intro (especially for the rough production quality) with airy bells over guitar and bass interplay.  A cymbal swell leads the song into its B section which mixes powerful guitar chords with legato piano melodies.  The song’s repetition of ideas allows the listener to retain something from the song.  Throughout the entire album, the drummer uses his toms to create tribal sounding grooves, and while overused by the time it reappears in closer “All the King’s Corpses, All the King’s Dead”, his ability to switch from standard snare-based grooves to these tribal styles creates variety throughout the album that many drummers cannot create.  Unfortunately, he often becomes too involved in his own fills to provide support for the melodic content of the songs. 

The root of the band’s problems lies in a lack of focus to the ensemble and an overabundance of focus on each individual part.  Every melody competes for power, and often times it is hard to discern which melody is supposed to be the primary melody.  Regardless, the band’s use of contrast in both dynamics and instrumentation makes for an enjoyable listen, minus the obvious performance errors, throughout.  A rising star?  Keep watching this band.

-Tyler Fisher