Man, did I ever miss the boat on these guys. There Were Wires were active in and around the Boston scene circa the early 2000s. I never checked them out because I was under the mistaken impression they were a screamo band. Sure, the vocals on Somnambulists are often larynx-shredding, but the somber music behind ’em is hefty, occasionally glacial riffage that reminds me of Isis and/or Doomriders (the latter should be no surprise as TWW members went onto that band post-breakup). Atmospheric passages hint at melody, making the howls land with that much more oomph. It’s worth mentioning, too, that this rerelease is the first by the second iteration of Iodine Recordings, which put out a bunch of great albums prior to its hiatus. If Somnambulists is any indication, Iodine has risen. –Michael T. Fournier (Tor Johnson / Iodine, iodinerecordings.bandcamp.com)