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Dreams kicks off with the title track. Starting slow, but establishing their ability to use a keyboard without sounding like they’re crafting a soundtrack to gay pride weekend, (Scary Kids, Scaring Kids I’m looking in your direction) WCAR proceed to craft a song built around David Stephens soaring vocals, and a double riff assault from guitarists Joshua Moore and Lou Cotton. The vocals are perfectly countered with screams that alternate from guttural to raspy in seconds. That first layer of keyboard, laid down by Kyle Pavone stays in the background but emerges to the front throughout the song reminding you where it started.

By the beginning of track two, Intentions, WCAP aren’t sparing the screaming, using it to give the song an aggressive overtone that fades into sincere reflection before breaking down like an epic soundtrack, with strings and keys creating an atmosphere that brings to mind a man looking inside himself and struggling with what he finds there.

Shapes starts out like an Everytime I Die track, utilizing a chugging metal riff as a lead in and some more good old fashion screaming, and then bring back the soaring vocals and the soundtrack feel to kick you in the balls and remind you who WCAR are, and what they came to do. By this point in the album, it’s hard not to respect We Came As Romans ability to blend so many varying styles together and make it work, when it has no business working.

By the time the first words of Conditions hits your ears, they’re no doubt that We came As Romans are onto something here, and standing in their way would be like waving your dick at a hungry cougar (“Which kind of cougar did he mean?”).

From beginning to end Dreams brings it hard and fast, and craft an EP that leaves the listener begging for a full length and prayin that this wasn’t a fluke. WCAR are the future of a genre that predicated itself on experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what you can do as a rock band, when so many that came before them have regressed into a shell of what they used to be.

I asked a friend of mine to describe We Came As Romans. The conversation went like this:

“How would you describe We Came As Romans?”

“It’s like they’re Enter Shakiri’s alcoholic step father.”

“What does that mean?”

“No bullshit. No Experimental teenage rave beats. It gets straight to the point and then goes to bed with Enter Shakiri’s mom for some rough anal sex.”

There is nothing I can say to better describe WCAR. This EP is as close to perfect as few bands can manage, and all images of anal sex aside, head over to their Purevolume page and download it. You can’t beat the price, the value, or the quality.

We Came As Romans – Conditions
We Came As Romans – Dreams

Tags: album