The Waiting For Waves EP from UK post hardcore band Depth is a release which grew from an initial feeling of ‘yeah, it is good but’ into something with more substance to its well crafted body and to the appreciation towards its strong and promising sounds. The release did not exactly fire up any personal passions but easily stands as a pleasing creative offering from the genre.
The only negative as such with the release, is a lack of distinction against other quality yet similarly fuelled releases. This makes for a collection of songs which can more than hold their own alongside other offerings but are unable to find their own unique place to pull real focused attention from. The tracks are well crafted with some great ideas and their delivery certainly impressive, but they lack their own distinguishable voice to truly place the band ahead of the rest. You have to think they will though, the evolution of their sound across the past few years and their skills more than enough evidence to inspire that expectation.
Formed in 2006 as a covers band bringing forth the music which fired their imagination, the Norwich quartet honed their skills and songwriting all the time as they moved into their own material and direction. The past four years has seen the band hitting the roads across the country and registering great performances with the likes of The Undertones, My Passion, Exit Ten, Don Broco, and Everything Burns, their live shows renowned for their pulsating energy. Their debut album Situations Fulfilled also found good positive responses from media and fans alike, something one suspects Waiting For Waves will easily repeat.
Released October 29th, the EP slides into the ear on a sonic breeze before the rapping rhythms of drummer Robb Collins 
heralds the scything riffs of Luke and Ryan Holliday. It is an instant lure to lead one into the heart of the song where the vocals of bassist Paul Hardy fill the air with strong expressive tones, ably backed by the voice of Luke Holliday. Hardy is an accomplished vocalist with a power maybe slightly lost within the great storm of sound around him which maybe is why some seem to see him as a lesser positive when he is one of many strengths within the band. The vocalist is also one mean bass player, his gnarly sound a great predatory joy across every song. The opener does everything right, takes the senses down a muscular and inventive road, it is just a relatively well trodden road, though Depth take its course with enterprise and skill to make it rewarding.
The following Hope In Mind is the best song on the release, a torrent of passion and senses stretching sonic imagination. Its mighty presence and fluid changes is one of the reasons there is plenty of assumption the band will become something quite special, its charged energy and evolving intimidating gait the most refreshing and invigorating track on the EP.
The title track is an adrenaline driven beast of a track, its opening attack a fire of bulging riffs and explosive sonics. It finds a more even pace without losing its might further into its passage, to allow fine melodic drifts and intrusive surges to light up the thoughtful direction shifts and changes. It is hard to say there is anything blatantly new going on but easy to declare how well structured and enjoyable eventful it all is.
Second Chances and Whispers close out the release, the first an emotive collision of heart and aggressive energies whilst the second is a feisty slice of rock with strong warm veins of melodic and vocals harmonies wrapped around artillery like riffs and jabbing rhythms. Both do a great job at holding total attention and giving equal satisfaction, even if they still do not open up any new dimensions.
That sums up Waiting For Waves EP perfectly, a pleasing EP which holds a full engagement but just fails to give something particularly different to many others. It is a satisfying confrontation all the same and to be fair that is all we primarily want from any release.
RingMaster 26/10/2012
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