If Thursday had Waiting, Myriad has The Semantics of Silence -- a decent debut full-length of anxious, semi-atmospheric post-hardcore that seems to promise much greater things down the line. A tiny band, even in the scope of the local scene, Myriad's gone pretty overlooked despite a smart, sincere sound that clearly pulls from great influences.

The Semantics of Silence bears only a few stylistic moves from 2007's demo and the recording is only marginally better, as the guitars are still pretty fuzzy and static-laden (wouldn't a dude that was in Rival Schools get a clearer sound than this?). However, something good is definitely buried in here. Still, one can really only say it's a slight improvement, but it's definitely a bit better nonetheless.

There are still considerable flourishes in here that bring Sirens-era On the Might of Princes directly to mind, but also some Storms of Early Summer-esque Cursive and a little bit of Mineral, with somewhat fractured vocals cracking over swirling, sweeping chords and a gurgling rhythm section pushing things along.

"Former Lovers" makes a hard mark, with strenuous yells and a swift tempo change early on before a chimey riff dances along for the first more-or-less "verse." If the band's next effort has a considerably larger audience to hear it, this should definitely re-appear in re-recorded form, as it'd probably be outright fantastic tracked in a better (or actual) studio. There's great bipolar-isms in the next track too, "Role Reversal," with a perfectly gritty delivery one moment and more muttered musings the next, as well as a bridge where you think nothing less than "OTMOP," or at least "SDRE." Strong vocal parts bubble up in "Drowned Sailors Need Suit Tailors."

Myriad is moving along fairly well, but I guess some bands can only improve so much being a part-time endeavor. Hopefully they put a little more time into this project, as its potential seems boundless.

STREAM
The Semantics of Silence

DOWNLOAD
The Semantics of Silence