by Eduardo RivadaviaNow this is going too far! Across Tundras' debut full-length, Dark Songs of the Prairie, provides an ideal glimpse of that fleeting moment when a once groundbreaking style of music transitions into commercially driven saturation -- in this case the so-called ambient-progressive-metalcore movement, invented by Neurosis in the 1990s, then crossed over into indie rock credibility during the early 2000s by the likes of Isis and Cult of Luna. In the short years since then, literally dozens of fine bands have sprung up worldwide to mine this as yet little explored musical vein: some bringing a unique twist of their own to the party (Pelican's anti-vocal stance, Old Man Gloom's sludge-core speed-bursts); some simply contributing great works to an ever-increasing pool (Mouth of the Architect, Rosetta). Yet all of them, virtually without exception, held in common a respect for the highest standards of musicianship to go with their scrupulously composed, almost scientifically sculpted songwriting -- which is why Across Tundras' seemingly thrown together and, frankly, unimaginative jams come off sounding so damn contrived. Not only that, they're crudely performed, as well; as if the musicians involved barely took time to learn their instruments, never mind paid the necessary attention to weaving their parts into the sophisticated arrangements necessary to justify their bloated six-plus minute song lengths. What's more, what passes for singing here -- occasional, toneless echoes heard muffled in the background during brief snippets of songs -- only adds to one's mounting frustration. Granted, lenient listeners will always find moments of promise within these sprawling 51 minutes, and perhaps the band's claims to incorporating country music elements into the Neurosis\u002F Isis template will ultimately vindicate all of the above as some big misunderstanding. But, for now, the sense of jumping on a bandwagon without really understanding its origins, or basic requirements, is disturbingly pervasive to Dark Songs of the Prairie.