Despite their sprawling desert surroundings, it is quite clear that Tucson, AZ's Is To Feel have kept their ear to what is currently going on in more livable climates. Their full-length opus, "Bending Halos, Dimming Lights", is a nearly schizophrenic blend of familiar, yet unfiltered melodic metal with emotional sensibilities that has no regrets in seizing the moment.

With vigorous riffing and an elastic vocal performance that can occasionally recall Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo, the band writhe and churn with erratic intent. This makes for some peculiar moments as the vocals alternate from bellowing screams into loosely structured melodic verses on the fly. The instrumentation usually follows their lead and gives the material a charming sense of purity. Thick chugging riffs segue into menacing breakdowns while robust harmonizing and noodling add enough extra color to keep the listener entertained.

All too often bands who attempt to meld a modern metal feel with uplifting harmonies come off as packaged and desperate for commercial success. Is To Feel are not one of those bands as the songs included here are actually quite capricious and drip with honest expression. Admittedly some of the guitar tones and breakdowns do harbor shades of nu-metal and the unsteady song progressions can reveal more weaknesses than strengths. But it's hard to fault them when they are delivered through such a soulful performance - one that is especially aided by the bands decision to track all of their songs live without studio wizardry.