Dasein

A bit too heavy to be considered emo and a bit too complex in both structure and affect to be called punk, let alone hardcore, this Muncie, IN-based sextet gets compared most frequently to bands like At the Drive-In and the Juliana Theory (for whom bandleader Jonathon Newby once worked as a tour manager). But listeners over the age of 30 will be most immediately struck by two other influences: Rush's Geddy Lee (check out Newby's vocals on "Monolithic") and the Cure's Robert Smith (check out Newby's vocals on the bridge to "Life Death"). While the band's sound is still a bit rough and less-than fully formed on its debut effort, there are lots of promising moments here, including the awkwardly pretty "Saturn Parkway," which lurches along in waltz time under a cloud of messily chiming guitars; the declamatory "Canon," which makes nifty use of distant background shouting à la Gang of Four; and the instrumental "It Keeps the Machine Running." Not bad at all.