Staring At Lakes – Warm Wars

Staring At Lakes make a deeply atmospheric and carefully crafted album with their immense debut Warm Wars. 

The textural glisten of ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ introduces the mood driven core of Warm Wars will also showcasing the woven instrumentation and melody that underscores Staring At Lakes post-rock influenced sound.

Moving the album dynamically Staring At Lakes push and pull the cinematic nature of Warm Wars to their advantage. Great turbulent lifts dominate tracks like ‘Good Grief’ and ‘Scent of Mental’ that offset the soft repose of their opening sections.

At the heart of Warm Wars is the stunning ‘Consanguinea’. Soaked in a densely atmospheric soundscape the dramatic swells of rhythm, washing textures and gently performed vocal harmonies a simply beautiful to behold. Merging together the post-rock grandeur of acts such as Sigur Rós with the alternative-pop leanings of group’s like Slow Skies the band take these complimentary influences a create a sound that is their own.

Although the production of Warm Wars gives the album a vast and epic feel, it is interesting to note just how succinct Staring At Lakes songwriting is. Considering the stylistic distance songs such as ‘Cope’ cover, not one track on the album out stays its welcome with every song coming in at under five minutes (a characteristic not usually found in the post-rock scene).

Instead Staring At Lakes play with the space and dynamic range that this production allows them. Constantly broadening the scope of the record’s sonic boundaries the group throw open the fullness of their sound to great effect.

Warm Wars is a vivid, intricately realized record populated by Staring At Lakes harmonically atmospheric landscapes. With its widescreen sound and large-scale production this is a debut of cohesive mood and tone.

Rating: 9/10

Warm Wars by Staring At Lakes is out now.