Following on from their well received demo recordings, In Pieces have made the inevitable step up with "Learning To Accept Silence", their debut full-length on Escape Artists Records. Ironically it is perhaps the quality of this release and the subsequent time and commitment it so deserves that led to vocalist Scott Gibson leaving the band just prior to its release.

The often quoted cliche is that a band have leapt forward from a prior release, but in this case it's quite literally true. Not only is it more melodic, dynamic and technical but the vocals have taken on new life, particularly in the screaming department. Where once they sounded overly raw they are now instead powerfully harnessed alongside outbursts of emotion and Bane like rhetoric. Perhaps most importantly the band haven't held back creatively, with innovative song arrangements and timing that give a jazz like quality, characterized in terms of strong but flexible rhythmic structures that open up so many doors in terms of possible directions. Be it a lush pop sensibility or abrasive hardcore riff waiting just round that corner, it only adds to the free flowing and impulse driven feel that this record positively gushes, rather than any contrived song writing formula.

For want of a comparison you could argue that the band have elements of Shai Hulud and Glassjaw in their music, the latter sharing that same frustration and bottled up angst which is released in such a cathartic manner. Those people into melodic hardcore will be hard pressed to find fault in this release which is undoubtedly one of the better albums that 2002 will experience and the evergreen nature of this record will see it being played out for a good time yet regardless of band personnel.