Moving Mountains
Waves


2.5
average

Review

by Sowing STAFF
May 9th, 2011 | 209 replies


Release Date: 2011 | Tracklist

Review Summary: A plummet into mediocrity.

One problem with embracing an experimental bunch like Moving Mountains is that they always hold the potential to break our hearts. Many of us fell in love with Pneuma, a breathtaking exercise in ambient post-rock, and started to develop a bond with Moving Mountains that would not easily be broken. Of course, like the end of any relationship, it typically goes one of two ways: either a gradual rift develops between the two parties involved and that initial sense of undying earnestness begins to decay, or it all ends at once – blindsided by an abrupt change of heart. Anyone who has been in their fair share of relationships will tell you that both are painful experiences; however, what we don’t see coming always hurts us more than what we can brace ourselves for. And like a deer in headlights, many avid fans of Moving Mountains will find themselves enduring the hardship of a disappointingly brief relationship with a band they thought they knew.

It isn’t that change is always a bad thing – often it is what propels a band to reach the peak of its potential. The main problem is what Moving Mountains has chosen to become with its second full-length. When we first set our eyes and ears upon them, they were graceful, elegant, and powerful. They were well-composed and truly stunning, engaging us in a unique combination of post-rock and ambient, experimental hardcore. Now, a mere four years later, they have aged grotesquely. Gone is the curious sparkle in their eye that captivated our attention, as it has been replaced with generic, straightforward post-hardcore that rarely deviates from well-known clichés. Gone are the textured displays of musical craftsmanship that made songs like ‘The Earth and the Sun’ such a sensually pleasing experience, ushered out by simplistic, muddled instrumentation the likes of which can be found in ‘Where Two Bodies Lie’, ‘Alleviate’, ‘Full Circle’, and a handful of other tracks. Portions of Waves are just loud for the sake of being loud (here’s looking at you, ‘My Life Is Like a Chase Dream’), with minimal substance at the foundation. Talk about letting yourself go. This is the definition of strained, and Waves’ broad vacancy in the ideas department shouts a message louder than vocalist Gregory Dunn ever could: Moving Mountains, you’ve changed…and I’m not sure that I like who you’ve become.

What might make Waves hurt even more is that we can still see traces of the band we fell in love with. For as shocking as the departure in their sound is, there are still enough atmospheric, uplifting tendencies in tracks like ‘Tired Tiger’ and ‘Once Rendering’ to make us want to hold onto hope that something more meaningful could come out of listening to this record. However, Waves only comforts us with reminders of the past, and it doesn’t offer us anything new and exciting to look forward to in the future. At one time, Moving Mountains may have been a band full of fresh ideas, full of ambition…but now they lay restless, tossing and turning in a bed of exhausted ideas. Even the things they used to do to make us happy, such as the use of trombones and xylophones, seem to have fallen by the wayside. Only time will tell if the limited offerings on Waves are enough to make us want to stick around; but seeing as we are only two albums deep in their discography, all indications are that it’s time to move on.



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user ratings (372)
3.5
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
Sowing
Moderator
May 10th 2011


44394 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

very brief review, kind of metaphorical and probably not as detailed as it could have been...but this is just what came to me as i listened. who else is really disappointed with how this turned out?



stream:

http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/29





SeaAnemone
May 10th 2011


21429 Comments


seems to be the general consensus... not sure if I'll check this out... didn't take you as someone that enjoyed Pneuma SowingSeason


EVERYONE WHO ENJOYED PNEUMA SHOULD LISTEN TO A BUNNY'S CARAVAN THEY ARE AMAZING

that is all

Obfuscation24
May 10th 2011


3938 Comments


Only heard one or two tracks off of this but they were both fucking awful.

Athom
Emeritus
May 10th 2011


17244 Comments


at least I've still got Foreword to remember these guys by.

SHAKEandBAKE
May 10th 2011


1346 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

If a different band released this same exact album, I feel that it would have been much better received (on this site at least).

balcaen
May 10th 2011


3183 Comments


damn, sowing... does this really suck as much as you say it does? :/
nevertheless, i do like me a brief review, especially if it's not so positive.

Ire
May 10th 2011


41944 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

wrnng genre 1/10

Sowing
Moderator
May 10th 2011


44394 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

does this really suck as much as you say it does?



well i gave it a 2.5, which indicates that it is average



but then again im typically a silver lining kind of guy and a 2.5 from me is probably a red flag

Ire
May 10th 2011


41944 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

yeah i just remembered that i gave this a 1 lol



silly 1s ftw

Sowing
Moderator
May 10th 2011


44394 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

did you listen to it? it prob isn't a 1.

Ire
May 10th 2011


41944 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

listened to one song



wasn't pneuma/instant 1/5

acorncheese
May 10th 2011


7139 Comments


ire should i check this out

North0House2
May 10th 2011


6153 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

This album disappointed the life out of me.

Oh well, I've got Simple Math and Tunnel Blanket to keep me company. I'm looking forward to High Gospel later this month too. Menuck's one of my favorite musicians, so it should be pretty cool, though surely pretentious.

Ire
May 10th 2011


41944 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

ire should i check this out




it's kinda boring so yeah you'll love it

acorncheese
May 10th 2011


7139 Comments


LOL

Sowing
Moderator
May 10th 2011


44394 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I actually really like 'Tired Tiger' and 'Once Rendering'. Might DL those tracks but the rest of this is so bland IMO

alachlahol
May 10th 2011


7593 Comments


band sounds like every other band now

Sowing
Moderator
May 10th 2011


44394 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

yeah basically

Irving
Emeritus
May 10th 2011


7496 Comments


Great review, SS. Pos.

byrkee
May 10th 2011


80 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

Seriously, are you deaf?

'sounds like every other generic band' im sorry was that a joke?



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