It makes sense that Lavinia's members come from all sorts of bands like Caspian, Eksi Ekso, the Burning Paris and others, because there's a wide variety of styles and influences in this melting pot EP, There Is Light Between Us. But it comes out strong.

Opener "Destroy Yourself" carries through with a dark hushness that reminds me of the verses of Thrice's "Backdraft," or the Out_Circuit perhaps. Granted, that's probably just due to a shared array of influences: You can hear a shitload of different bands inspiring this EP, and that's part of what makes it great. It's a fusion of post-metal, shoegaze, brooding post-punk and post-rock styles and it actually blends into a pretty unique thing. "Destroy Yourself" eventually adds some eerie strings, and it brings Cult of Luna to mind, while "Fires" has a guitar tone at one point that's straight Pornography.

Other bands you're bound to hear include Jesu and My Bloody Valentine, since there's a droning quality to this EP, but it's never overdone. Subtle, quick crescendos of volume pulse in "A Damning Confession," with a haunting procession and a restrained liveliness to it all.

The only problem I might have with this EP is that it almost never seems to really explode. Tracks like "Fires" build to a sinister boil, but they aren't cooking anything. The banjo accompanied-closer "Bone & Arrow" does build to a pretty surefire climax, however, making up for the lack of culminating happening before it.

A very cool debut, and probably my favorite thing I've heard from these players so far, actually.

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A Damning Confession
Windmills