5/10
For a band described as "transcendental post-punk," there are only a few things you can gather from that. Either their pretension outweighs the merits of their music, or we are listening to the re-embodiment of Joy Division before our very ears. Thankfully, Dead Waves sit more on the latter side as the band look to release their second studio album 'Living Inside'.
While its fair to say that their sound would possible be better compared to the likes of Mogwai or Radiohead than anything else, 'Living Inside' aims to create a number of lucid soundscapes through fuzzy guitars and the occasional string section. It's gothic approach to the post-punk genre is something we haven't heard very much of, and while the band make their best attempts of it, much of the record falls flat by simply giving up on ideas just as they get going.
Each tracks seems to start with an overzealous energy or sense of impending doom, which over the course of the track gets weakened until it fizzes out entirely. It makes for an incredible roller-coaster of a ride, but not one we can say we fully enjoyed.