Via the Verge has produced a solid effort with their debut self-titled EP. Discerning listeners and musicians, don’t touch the knob: This six-song effort sounds immaculate and is expertly mixed. With this first release, the future is bright for this Norman, OK-based quintet, tastefully implementing time signatures and key changes while avoiding anything that feels gimmicky or forced. Unlike other bands in their post-hardcore, progressive rock genre, they don’t wear you out with a barrage of speed drumming and staccato guitar riffs. Instead, they leave the listener with enough space to breath and absorb what they just heard, a nod to their ability to write a true song. Each track is its own animal, presented in such an organic way, unforced with respect for the musicianship that drives it. Newly acquired vocalist Joseph Kelm drops deep, guttural vocals as an accent, inserted only on an as-needed basis. Manning a tiny raft in a sea of prog-rock and metal bands, the question for Via the Verge is whether they will survive long enough to rise above the tide, and they are definitely worth following to find out.
