Spoken have spent several years paying their dues amidst other Arkansas hopefuls, honing a grating radio-rock blend, while finding themselves sharing the stage alongside such vicious metalcore collectives as ZAO and Living Sacrifice. Considering the company they have kept, one would expect the groups Tooth & Nail debut to be full of tenacious breakdowns and discordant guitar riffs, yet this is not the case. Instead the band have modified their dynamic, melodically proficient sound on "A Moment Of Imperfect Clarity" to fluidly melt into its listeners memories.

The album quickly tears into the listener with ravenous intent, as "Across These Waters" unveils an agonizing slow burn of punchy guitar riffs and Matt Baird's scratchy melodic intimacy, and the group then continue the stunning introduction with near perfect pop timing on "Promise". These opening numbers instantly instill an indie intensity in the band, drawing comparisons to Finch with their watered down aggro approach. Meanwhile, visions of a mutant hybrid of The Used & finger eleven will wash across one's vision while listening to "Learning To Forget", yet Baird's vocal dominance reveals a confidence uncharacteristic for the style. With these offerings Spoken succeed admirably, yet for every fiery "In Dreams", the group deliver a flimsy alt. rock number like "A World Away" which flees away from the aggressive edge. Truly the band have a frustrating ability to direct their music into forgettable emo/rock territory, disrupting the album's flow with little care for album continuity. These lackadaisical efforts rarely fill the void the band create, and instead bring the record to a sluggish crawl. "Sleep Well Tonight" does manage to maintain a driving pop melody that resembles Die Trying, and the album closes with delicate perfection on"How Long", but the untimely pacing issues and uneven song sequence makes for an album that never quite ensnares you in it's musical trappings.

Having established themselves in the independent scene as an uncompromising aggressive outlet, it is a bit surprising to find Spoken opting for a much more mainstream style on their debut. While the group still have their share of testosterone-laden moments, "A Moment of Imperfect Clarity" is clearly built around soaring pop melodies in the vein of Trapt or TRUSTcompany. This may come as slightly unexpected, yet the band do display impressive ability in creating such accessible rock songs. With that said, the album does feel a bit insubstantial and breezy, a fact that is impacted upon by a glut of wishy-washy sentimental filler and producer GGGarth's glossy production values. This inevitably becomes a tale of two albums; on one hand the group have a handful of heavy tracks that exemplify the new wave of raw pop/rock, and on the other there is an album of airy modern emo/rock that begs for lighters to be lit and acoustic guitars strummed. In their blind desire to appeal to every listener at once, the band fail at holding onto those that show interest, which makes for a compelling debut that is unfortunately incapable of whetting one's appetite completely.