The Coma Recovery, Drown That Holy End in Wine

The Coma Recovery puts out a solid progressive/hard rock epic with Drown That Holy End in Wine. After listening to the album, I can see a lot of potential in this band down the road. Unfortunately, the album gets mired and lost in itself; like the latest Johnny Depp shipwreck, these songs seemingly go on forever. The album is almost an hour long, with only eight songs on it. The last three songs are around nine minutes long apiece; “Fifteen Minute Hourglass” is marathon-like in its length and a testament to patience, topping out a little under ten minutes.

Putting aside the problem with length, the album has many enjoyable moments. “The Glory of Alone” showcases the band’s progressive spin from hardcore/melodic to soft ambient noise. There are moments that reminded me of Mourning Maxwell, Pink Floyd, and The Killers. The band’s eclectic amorphous style is complemented by the shaky, wavy distortion of the guitar; throughout the album, the songs are constantly changing around the musicians’ dexterous fingers. Once again, however, while the music is ingratiating at times, it feels like the songs are reluctant to take full shape.

“Fifteen Minute Hourglass” is an epic of about ten minutes in length (that is to say, ten punk songs long). The beginning starts out with a great hard/bluesy riff. The guitar gains power, and at times during the song you can hear the influence of hardcore heavyweights Refused. The bass drives the guitar like the follow-through of a ball-peen hammer, and the drummer does a great job glueing the song together. Vocalist Daniel Brigman is focused in his intensity, but I feel he lacks the foreground exposure needed in order for the listener to be able to appreciate his talent. For the entire album, it sounds like he’s harmonizing in an adjoining room away from the band; his voice sounds distant (though, live at Fitz, I’m sure he would sound fine).

The Coma Recovery sings hopeful poetic lyrics, borrowing from the softer ethereal side of their melodic breakdowns. The lonely melodies fall slowly from the guitar like ripples in the water. While these breakdowns from the hard rock pace are nice, they occur in every song multiple times. There were so many breakdowns and start-ups in “The Fifteen Minute Hourglass” that I thought four tracks had played before the one was over. Most of the songs could have been broken into three or four songs and the listener wouldn’t have noticed. All I’m saying is that not every song has to be epic — the listener gets tired and lost. The melodic ingenuity, pumping guitar, and catchy beats were not all lost on me, luckily, and I’d spin this disc a few more times. If you’re driving from El Paso to Houston, I’m sure you won’t even notice how much of a journey each song is.