Hadwynn is a trio from Raleigh, NC that has recently released their debut album, Monuments. Powerful, melodic and sincere, the eleven songs contained therein make an impact from the first note to the last.

They introduce themselves with "Entrance" which literally feels like it should be playing over the opening credits/montage of a movie. The pounding rhythm feels like it should puctuate shifting images layout on the background of a story you are about to see unfold. It's followed by "O! The Noise!" which gives a bit of insight into the band's Christian roots, but they never beat you over the head with their religion. It's only the inspiration, not the whole of the body.

"Sort of Grey" faked me out, the first few notes sounding strikingly similar to the theme song from the TV show Friday Night Lights, and even though it wasn't, it still fits. The show was about people finding their way despite certain miseries, and so, I think, is this song.

The album ends with "The Seed Song", a deeply personal song for Daniel Moore he wrote while during a period when he was being tested for a rare form of arthritis that killed his grandfather. Haunting, yet strangely uplifting.

There are seven other songs here, but these four were, for me, the standouts that I recalled long after hearing the album in full. And yet there are no bad songs in the bunch, not a one that made me want to turn off the music, and good enough to enter into my playlist rotations for my MP3 player. Worth checking out. I hope to hear more from them in the years to come.