Review Summary: A great blend of atmosphere and melody
“Symphonic Landscape Rock”. That’s what Portuguese band Hiata themselves call their music, and well, it sure fits the sound. Ambience is mixed with lively distorted parts in a rich variety. The singing ventures back and forth between really catchy and really atmospheric, though mispronunciation of a lot of words distract from the experience.
The track “Fareyed” opens the record and shows a good use of guitars and symphonic effects to set the sample for the rest of the album. It also displays an interesting take on drum-patterns, even though it sounds like a drum-machine has been used. I don’t know if that’s the case, but it does sound like it.
Second song “Floating Isles” is one that has me split. The structure is indeed interesting and both guitars and drums continue to convey the emotion intended, but something about the singing feels a little of to me. Either way the band really allows the songs to expand into experiences, with new things happening all the time, most of which you don’t expect, yet fits perfectly with the feeling.
Mid-through the record hits it low-mark. “F*ckin Dance” is more… well, dance-friendly than the other tracks, and not in a particularly good way. It feels misplaced and doesn’t have the same flow as the rest of the songs, with a more prominent verse-chorus-verse structure. Taken out of context it could be a decent song, but on this EP I wouldn’t say that I favor it. An additional minus to me in this song is the way it ends. I personally don’t like these kinds of jam-band endings.
I Might Live Again lift the experience a bit from “F*ckin Dance”, in being more ambient and suggesting than the radio friendly third track. It blends post-rockish passages with straight forward yet emotionally loaded guitars and vocals.
The title track could very well be one of the best songs I’ve heard in its genre. Its hypnotic vocal melodies, creative song-structure and use of haunting and dissonant guitars give the song an eerie but soothing feel. It builds to a climax that leaves you satisfied with the incredible build-up. I also feel that this is the song with the best pronunciation, a big plus for me.
At first listen I didn’t really like the finishing song, “Topgun”, but it certainly grows on you over time. I think that its problem is that it doesn’t leave as big an impression as “Poisoned Waters” does, even though it is in of itself a good song. Maybe one could have rearranged the track list, putting the title track sooner, to fix this problem. “Topgun” is a good finisher, but would feel even better without “Poisoned Waters” in fresh memory.
So to sum up, this is a good record with some slight distractions, such as some songs being a little drawn out and bad pronunciation. Overall though, “Poisoned Waters” is a great atmospheric album, able to successfully convey the feelings and emotions intended, that leaves you with a good, relaxed feeling. I had a hard time settling for a rating, pending between 3.5 and 4. I came to the conclusion that the title track alone makes “Poisoned Waters” a definite 4. Although it may not be neither the most innovative nor original album ever created, I’d recommend this one to anyone who’s into slow/mid-tempo songs that pack a lot of emotion.
Pros:
+ The title track is an underrated piece of excellence
+ Inspired and non-linear drum-patterns
+ All together an easy and relaxing listen
Cons:
- Pronunciation does annoy me a little
- Parts of some songs seem drawn out
