sleepmakeswaves - Love of Cartography (2014)

Originating from Sydney, Australia, Love of Cartography is sleepmakeswaves' third album. Their style could be broadly described as post rock with very strong guitars and attitude. 

The album opens with Perfect Detonator. The guitars roar creating a solid wall of noise but the song also contains very playful melodies. The contrast between the hard guitars and the post rock style melody is perfect. Right from the very start, this song makes a statement: This is post rock of the highest caliber with roaring guitars. The band manages to create an album that is uptempo, often sitting in the border between rock and metal but is still filled with beautiful melodies and cinematic moments. A hard combination to make but one that sleepmakeswaves manages to create seamlessly.

Other songs to highlight, are the more cinematic and sweeping Traced in Constellations, the progressive and epic How We Built the Ocean and the utterly powerful Your Time Will Come Again; a song in two parts that lures in with gentle intimacy to then explode in your face. 

The guitars are hard and in your face, the melodies are beautiful and the electronic arrangements work to great effect, enhancing the songs but not detracting from them. This is an excellent release for those who like post rock with attitude. Simply brilliant.

Rating: Heavy Rotation

You can buy the album from the sleepmakeswaves Bandcamp here