Day Without Dawn – S/T / 2006 Self / 5 Tracks / http://www.daywithoutdawn.com / Reviewed 10 August 2006

Day Without Dawn is an act that is very intense with their compositions. The band immediately should make individuals recall the days of acts like Fugazi, Jets to Brazil, and Nations of Ulysses. There are even hints of System of a Down and The Mars Volta during Day Without Dawn’s opening track, “The Fall”. “The Fall” uses soaring guitar lines and nice double bass drumming to make something that is a blend of punk, emo, metal, and indie rock.

The maturity exhibited by Day Without Dawn is without comparison. There is nothing concrete about this self-titled disc; what Day Without Dawn does on this album is create something that supplants itself every few seconds. The intensity of the band is without reproach. One can even hear hints of Radiohead during this EP, which shows the extent of influences on this CD. The tracks all blend into each other perfectly, so having specific “Tracks” seems to be a wasted motions. In fact, Day Without Dawn could slap an overarching title for the entirety of the EP and have it work better than the song titles currently on the album. “The Plea” is perhaps the most thoughtful of the compositions on this self-titled album, and while it might have a lighter sound at times, there is no denying that Day Without Dawn keep the same intensity throughout the track as they do on the rest of the disc. Each of the compositions are so well balanced that it is amazing that Day Without Dawn do not have a major label contract at this juncture.

The disc barely cracks the sixteen minute mark but the effective time of these compositions feel twice that; the band knows exactly what to do on this album and I have little doubt in my mind that they would be able to continue with the same near-perfection on a full-length album. The band has made it and deserves much more than cardboard slipcases for their music. The disc makes individuals crave that much more from this band, and will be the perfect thing for listeners until Day Without Dawn can cut a full album of tunes. Hopefully this process happens sooner rather than later. With an incredible amount of emotion and fury on this album, there is little left that Day Without Dawn still need to do to take the music world by storm. Go to their website and pick up this album.

Top Track: The Plea

Rating: 7.4/10

[JMcQ]