The Haze Of Infatuation

he Burning Season trek through so many mood swings during the exact-four-minutes of "The Eternal Now," the opening track of their first full-length The Haze of Infatuation, that one can't help but wonder what they could possibly come up with next. Curiously, they then proceed to repeat a slight variation of the same script -- an amalgam of emo, hardcore, metal, and melodic ambience -- on very next track "Weight of the World" in, once again, exactly four minutes. Deja-vu? You bet! But then, that's not to say the band are a one-dimensional beast, which clearly is impossible with the aforementioned variety of influences making themselves felt within virtually any given song. No, The Burning Season just lack for a little more structure and compositional savvy to make distinct, self-contained songs -- not jumbled assortments of tiny good ideas -- out of typical offering like "A Fate Like Yours" and "First Glance." As it stands, listeners may find it difficult to separate the songs from one another, and interlude-like excerpts such as the 42-second outburst "These Things," the all-acoustic instrumental wimp-fest of "Losing My Voice," or the absolutely useless 30-seconds of "You Can't Say "Dance" on a Record," only contribute to the record's thrown together feel. Furthermore, the singer's predominantly gruff screaming doesn't really do his overwrought but poetic lyrics justice, and when he counters it with deadpan speaking tones (a device used throughout, but especially on closer "Watch in Faith"), the aimed-for dramatic effect winds up feeling more contrived than revelatory. In sum, there's a sense of missed opportunity pervading The Haze of Infatuation -- a more inventive debut than most bands could possibly conjure up, but one lacking the presence of mind and maturity to maximize its scattered components. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|