Damiera brings a load of talent on their Equal Vision debut, M(US)IC.

While they neatly ride the wave of progressive punk metal with pretty singing, the playing on M(US)IC is simply dizzying. A pair of nicely separated speakers or headphones bring out the technical strength of Damiera as intricate guitar lines circle in syncopation over trebly bass lines while the drumming brings a natural flow to the quickly changing tempos and time signatures. While listening, I was reminded of Circa Survive, Portugal the Man, and the Mars Volta, although they don't completely immitate any of those bands.

What is lacking throughout is enough variation in the songwriting and instrumentation to keep the album interesting. While reviewing this album, I purposely sat down three times for a focused listen, and each time, after the first few songs, I completely lost interest on the task at hand and just started finding other things to do. It wasn't intentional, M(US)IC just didn't hold my attention for more than a few songs. I found myself cleaning my bathtub, scrubbing kitchen floors, or shoveling my sidewalk, which isn't really a bad thing.

M(US)IC is not a bad release, especially if you like this style since they stick so closely to party lines. If your interests lie outside the genre, this release seems pretty unessential.

Release: January 23, 2007
Equal Vision Records
10 Tracks, 32 minutes