Absolve are one of the latest acts to spawn from the fertile grounds of the New England area, but they shouldn't have too hard of a time getting noticed in their local scene when considering that they feature former Trustfall frontman Adam J. Morse within their ranks. That being said though, this venture is definitely a different outing for Morse, as the music contained on this effort is much more melodic and loose than the gritty Pantera styled work he has done in the past. In fact, Absolve tend to sound like a cross between Sevendust, finger eleven and SW1TCHED combined with a light touch of Soundgarden, using brooding guitar work and open ended song structures coupled with soulful wails to compose the bulk of music present on this EP.

With thick hearty croons and wavering melodies, Adam's emphatic delivery tends to sound like a wounded meeting of the minds between Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon and finger eleven's Scott Anderson, but though he is definitely a lot more vulnerable this time around, he still keeps his tank full of anger, bursting unhinged screams that can bring to mind metalcore acts like Strife and Earth Crisis. Guitar work is somewhat cloudy, using crunchy distortion with a slight new metal aesthetic, making it feel a bit sludgy as atmospheric riffs elevate into throbbing auditory assaults. Meanwhile, driving bass lines make up the low end, supporting the guitar riffs with a warm, slightly detuned growl that tends to give the tracks that ever necessary oomph. Drum wise the album is a bit more progressive, trying on beats that are a bit ambient in nature as they bash through a wealth of shimmering cymbal hits while delving into almost drum and bass styled timing structures which add a slightly slippery feel to the music overall.

It's impressive to see Adam adjust to his new surroundings and the music Absolve create does indeed show off a lot of potential. Its abrasive, cathartic and feels almost freeform as climatic part changes move in and out like ocean waves smashing against a beach. Still, despite the fact that the band are touching upon something that shows promise, their relatively short time together is quite detectable as the tracks can feel a bit sloppy here and there and the guitar tone seems to be a bit too foggy to really give the band a vividly pronounced edge. In their favor, it does take some very fine adjustments to reach a perfect level of musical cognition and though Absolve's songs do sound as though they will thrive with song structures that have a moderate amount of give, it tends to be just a tad too loose at present, causing the tracks to snag and tear up their momentum more often than not. However, given that this is the groups first release, this is something that will inevitably be fixed as they grow together and with a considerable amount of promise already on display, things look quite good for them if they can manage to quell these minor discrepancies and focus their abilities into a more streamlined aural package.