Review Summary: Awaken I Am have crafted an admirable debut record.
Awaken I Am are an Australian post-hardcore group that subscribe to a relatively recent trend inside the genre. Instead of featuring both screamed and clean vocals, the band only has a clean vocalist, much in the vein of Emarosa or Hands Like Houses. The band's debut record,
Shields & Crowns, shows that this type of softer post-hardcore works within its confines. The album is not without its flaws, but it is lots of fun and impressively professional.
In terms of sound, Awaken I Am can be very closely compared to many of their Aussie counterparts. Tinges of Dream On, Dreamer, In League and even The Amity Affliction are present in their music. Nevertheless, the band is able to craft their own style. This album is familiar, but Awaken I Am differentiate themselves enough from their genre-mates to prevent tediousness.
As with most post-hardcore albums these days, Awaken I Am's instrumentals are all great. The band's guitar work is energetic. The deep melodies are stimulating, and they make each song on
Shields & Crowns memorable. Elsewhere, the drums are beautifully tracked. They are not anything truly remarkable, but are able to get the job done. The same goes for the album's bass tracks, which are nice, but are nothing more than serviceable. Overall, the rhythm and lead guitars are certainly the sweetest treats on this record.
Vocalist Adam Roger Douglas' vocals are an interesting component of
Shields & Crowns. The album's singing is undeniably enjoyable, for the most part. Douglas' high tenor vocal range, much in the vein of Kellin Quinn and Vic Fuentes, is remarkable and catchy, but it has its flaws. His extended use of falsetto-sounding may become jarring for some. And while his ceiling is impressive, Douglas' vocals sometimes feel trapped within their head-voice dominated limits. Still, his vocals are not bad. Many will enjoy them or dislike them, depending on preference.
Shields & Crowns has some great guest features as well. Slaves vocalist Jonny Craig dishes out a long guest performance on “The Depths”. His vocals are wonderful, as usual. The nicest surprise is Ricky Thomas of In League's spot on “Shields”. Thomas' screams have improved drastically since In League's last album,
Sleep And You Might Miss This, and he adds an additional dimension to the song. I was very glad to see him on this album, at any rate. The Alan Watts sample at the end of “The Depths” is awesome, too.
The songwriting on
Shields & Crowns is somewhat debatable. The songs are fun. That is undeniable. They are also very infectious and groovy. But, there is certainly some genre fatigue throughout the record. The songwriting structure is far from revolutionary, and certainly fits within established post-hardcore tropes. Do not come to
Shields & Crowns expecting a revitalization of the genre's formula, because this release is heavy on breakdowns, fast paced rhythms, and hardcore influences. Nevertheless, do expect to find some interesting ideas and enjoyable tracks throughout.
The album is sufficiently varied as well. “The Onlooker” and “Divisions” are solid, traditional post-hardcore tracks. “The Depths” has some interesting melodies and hooks. “Safe Heaven” and “Vices” offer the best of Douglas' singing. “The Channeling” and “Landslide” offer well-needed downtime, while “Capture” is a powerful anthem that uses group vocals wonderfully. It must be noted that many of these songs do sound similar. What distinguishes them, however, is the fact that they are all listenable, and devoid of filler.
In conclusion, Awaken I Am have crafted a great debut album with
Shields & Crowns. The effort is wonderfully produced and engineered, and sounds fantastic. It also has both levels of maturity and raw potential in all of its songs. Awaken I Am have a sound, but it is unclear whether they have mastered it or not. Nonetheless, this is an entertaining post-hardcore record, and it is easily one of the best releases to come out of the Australian scene in a long while. For those of you that are looking for some good Emarosa-like post-hardcore, you may strike gold with
Shields & Crowns. To those of you that are looking for re-imagining of post-hardcore, you might want to look elsewhere. Whatever the case,
Shields & Crowns certainly deserves your attention.
