awaken the echoes - glow

Awaken The Echoes

Glow
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Justin Gadell aka Awaken the Echoes recently released an album called Glow, which tips its hat to bands like Explosions In the Sky and GodSpeed You! Black Emperor. Anybody who listens to post-rock will instantly recognize some of the staples the genre has to offer such as the ample amount of reverb on the guitar, the epic crescendos, crashing drums, etc. What might be most impressive thing about this album is that Gadell did everything on his own from top to bottom. He recorded, mixed and mastered everything in his basement on a very minimal setup and it sounds better than a majority of the DIY projects out there. While these songs are well crafted and immediately likeable, if you are a fan of the genre the eight songs on this album follow a similar structure relying on drones, a lot of stabbing 32nd notes of strings of guitar and epicness. 

One of the most original and standouts of the album is opener “Imperceptible,” which begins with an awesome wave of noise that sounds both beautiful and overwhelming. It’s an ambient piece that swells and transforms as it covers your speakers in the full spectrum of frequencies.  This is clearly a great piece and I would be happy to hear an entire album similar to this song. ”Quiet Confidence” is where we go into territory that is a tad more predictable but still enjoyable nonetheless. What was nice about it is that it managed to rock out on an epic level but didn't feel chaotic. It was more serene and soft in a way. “Running Against Time” has one of the better drum performances on the album. It also has some of the most intense guitar riffs as well. I was a little bit misled by “Dreaming in Clarity” as I thought it was going to be a nice light ambient song that revolved around a simple piano melody but instead it turned out to be one of the most intense songs on the album. “Gratification” was a bit of a breather and again displayed the knack Gadell has for creating gorgeous atmospheres akin with something Sigur Ros would make. Closing with “Prayers For Mom” he reverts to ascending guitar scales that end on an apex. 

My only real issue with this album is that it does rely a little too much on some of the clichés of post-rock. With that being said this is a good album that has some great moments. Some of the atmospheres Gadell creates are almost hypnotic and it is clear that he needs to continue creating music

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