WITHOUT WAVES is a band based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and has a fusion sound of Jazz, Extreme Metal and Atmospheric Rock. "Lunar" is their third full-length album, with nine tracks, and was released in March 2017. Some of this more avant-garde music is not for the feint at heart, but I always appreciate experimentation and the willingness to explore. Let's get to the tracks. "Sewing Together The Limbs" is surely an interesting song title to lead off the album. The instrumentation is heavy and the vocals fry, as the rhythms pummel you over and over. Some of it reminds me of IHSHAN in the sense that there is not a formulated pattern or a single care given for orthodox music. Couple this with key changes that are completely unexpected and you have a recipe for the unique. "Poetry In Putrid Air" has the percussion leading the early part of the sound, again with heavy rhythms, but with varied vocal approaches. The twists and turns are everywhere in this song so do not expect something linear. Some of the lead guitar breaks are more in the Jazz vein.

"Us Against" is the longest song on the album, at just over nine minutes. It is much more mellow, with a breezy element and clean vocals that key on strong melodies. It's really quite beautiful but completely unlike the first two tracks in terms of aggressiveness. "Never Quite Know Why" is also a more atmospheric rock sounding track, with trippy guitar parts and sounds like what you would envision walking on the moon, experiencing the gravity changes in a cold, dark landscape. "Victorian Punishment" circles back around the other side again, returning to a hasty, chaotic sound where the guitars almost seem to mimic emergency sirens, and the vocals are anguished and sonorous. It is fairly loose overall at times without regard for a common meter. "E.D.M.S." purports a dissonant sound from the odd-keyed guitar riff that repeats a note several times in hypnotic fashion. There is little melody here to grab onto; instead the focus is on the anger and aggressiveness of the music. I can imagine the veiled title must have some bearing on the music but it is unknown.

"Lost Art" is another lengthy introspective number, like "Against Us." It's a bit darker though to go along with the smoothness that settles within. The dual vocal harmonies are very pretty, even though the message seems to be depressing. "Fractals" has a jovial little melody that is simple but effective in communicating a real emotional quality in the track, and it is hard hitting. I can't say better than it just made me feel connected to the song. Ending on an aggressive note, "Memento Mori" explores the heavier and brutal side of the album's inventory, with a flurry of instrumentation and angry vocals.

Though I do not like to use cliché's, "expect the unexpected" is about the best way I can sum up the listening experience. If you are up for something unique and have an open mind, I am sure you will enjoy this album. You can easily hear that the group has some varied influences as well as some diverse musical taste, as it is reflected in the sound which is far reaching in terms of genre boundaries. What I appreciate about this is the personality that is injected into each track. Even know the album doesn't have a central theme, you can still enjoy each song for itself.