Album, Single and EP Reviews


 

 

  As a Snowflake Dissolving in a Wave by At the End of Summer


As a Snowflake Dissolving in a Wave cover art

Artist: At the End of Summer
Title: As a Snowflake Dissolving in a Wave
Catalogue Number: No catalogue number
Review Format: CD
Release Year: 2007



Taking the jewel case from its plastic wrapping, this Bluesbunny finds that it's cracked - I've a bad feeling about this one.

The CD starts well with a clean, if somewhat thin sounding, finger picked waltz time acoustic guitar refrain. The fragile vocals come in with a faux weeping quality which seems to add to the rather pretentious nature of the lyrics like "The sun will rape the night. Again and again and she can't rebel"; my Bluesbunny ears droop with disappointment. After sitting through 24 minutes and 59 seconds of school-boy poetry I'm left wondering how A Matthew Prina's songs would sound if he tried to actually sing instead of affecting the heartbroken Jesters whispers and wailing that over-shadows what is actually some beautifully simple and gentle acoustic guitar work.

And, regrettably, the feeling didn't improve after multiple exposures.

This album is a bleak listening experience, with even the highlight of the CD, the delicate, child-like instrumental, "To Decay Softly to the Ground", allowing too little light to penetrate the black cloud that At the End of Summer seems to live under. There is something in there trying to get out but the introspective nature of it all is likely to induce indifference than excitement.


www.myspace.com/attheendofsummer
Reviewer:
Review Date: August 13 2007