REVIEWS
ALBUMS
Capstan “Restless Heart, Keep Running” Capstan have released their debut LP, titled “Restless Heart, Keep Running.” So many of the tracks on here really show the band’s post-hardcore sound and their unique take on the genre. Lead singles “Stars Before The Sun” and “We’ll Always Have Paris” begin softer, but the raw vocals and harder hitting instrumentals quickly kick in, leading up to huge and very memorable choruses. “I’ll Bury The Hatchet When They Bury You” starts out on a more aggressive note, but the pre-chorus and chorus that follow are a bit more melodic, while the bridge is a mix of those two things. “The Love That Remains” brings even more impressive instrumentals, from the drums in the intro to the bass in the verses and the guitars right before the bridge, “Indelible” begins much slower and softer but eventually shows the band’s aggressive influences more through the powerful vocals in the second verse and the very captivating bridge, which really embraces these musical influences, and “Abstracted” mixes the band’s pop punk influences with the more aggressive ones with the energetic instrumentation and mix of clean and unclean vocals. Another handful of these tracks really embrace the heavier side of the band’s sound. “Terminal” is a perfect example of this, bringing very energetic instrumentals and unclean vocals that seemingly draw influence from more melodic hardcore music. There is a more melodic chorus and bridge, but that aside, this is one of the heaviest songs on the album. “The Agentic Statement” brings lots of aggression in many aspects, from the harsher vocals in the first verse to the breakdown later on, but also includes a more melodic second verse and chorus (both of which are very catchy). Final single “Fix” is slightly more melodic compared to these other tracks, but there are more shouted and screamed vocals incorporated, as well as another guitar led breakdown that ends the track. “Nothing Met, Nothing Moved,” brings a great mix of these elements, from the energy found in the instrumentation once again to the bigger choruses, and the song as a whole brings a ton of emotion through the performances as well. That being said, the band still slows things down a little bit on this album, with tracks like the instrumentally driven intro “An Open Door,” which brings a more simplistic vibe to the record, led by only violin and piano, but also provides some intriguing composition that opens the record in an interesting way. “Hideaway” also brings that more laid back and simplistic vibe to the album, driven by acoustic guitar (at first) and much softer vocals to match, before the more raw and much louder vocals come in at the end of the bridge, leading up to the final chorus. The very powerful third single “There Is No Answer” is very similar, starting out much softer (especially with the cleaner guitars driving the track at first), but the second verse and second chorus bring much more raw vocals that put on a very emotional performance that may be one of my favorites on the record. “Restless Heart, Keep Running” is poignant, powerful, and a very impressive debut LP for Capstan. Empty “Hope And The Loss Of It” Empty have released their debut album, “Hope And The Loss Of It.” Quite a few of the tracks on here show the band’s heavier side. The title track and opener “Hope & The Loss Of It” has some really aggressive vocals following the harder hitting intro, but the vocal performance overall really stands out through the style and delivery. This song, “You Call Yourself A Shepherd,” and “From A Chemist’s Point Of View” all show a great balance between those heavier elements and some more melodic ones by throwing some extremely catchy choruses into the mix that give the clean vocals a chance to shine as well. Both of these tracks have a ton of energy, shown through the instrumentals driving it, and the unclean vocals stand out on both of these tracks as well. “Regression = Return” is arguably the heaviest song that this album has to offer, once again bringing so much energy through the instrumentals (especially the drums that really help build the song up), as well as some equally as heavy vocals and a breakdown driven by some pretty catchy guitars. Speaking of which, another handful of tracks on here lean more towards the more melodic side of the band’s music and really embrace those aspects of their sound. “Slow Death By Fluorescent Lighting” has an extremely memorable chorus that blows me away with every listen and that has made me return for many repeated listens. “Prototype For Breathing” brings in some softer vocals during the verses, which gradually lead up to another pretty catchy chorus. “Life & Limb” really allows the vocals to show off at first, and those vocals only get louder and more impressive as the song continues, and “Transition To A Reference” is easily another one of my favorites vocally, as the clean vocals on here bring a captivating performance, and a bit of screaming is added in later on for a powerful ending to the song. The remaining tracks on here are a great mix of the band’s heavier and more melodic influences. “Trench” is much softer at first, bringing some emotional vocals in the first verse, but harder drums and guitars kick in to add more to the song, and heavier vocals come in later on for a bigger bridge with just as much emotion. “Do Not Let Me Sink” is very energetic, but brings a mix of clean and unclean vocals, as well as catchy guitars in the beginning and similarly catchy melodies in the chorus, and despite the energy and aggression also found in “Underneath The Wreckage,” the clean vocals bring some very interesting and much darker melodies that fit perfectly with the heavier vibe that that particular song mostly has. With “Hope And The Loss Of It,” Empty have proven their potential through eleven interesting and impressive songs. Patternist “I Don’t Know What I’m Doing Here” Patternist also put out his debut LP, “I Don’t Know What I’m Doing Here.” A large amount of the songs on this album are pretty upbeat, such as the unforgettable lead single “Bikes,” which is one of the catchiest all-around on the whole album, from the vocals to the instrumentals, the closer “It’s A Secret Track,” which lets the bass and drums shine a bit more and makes a great final track for the album. “Keep Your Love” and “No One Waits For You” add some synths into the mix for some extra emphasis on those tracks, and despite the simpler instrumentation on “I Don’t Feel Real,” the song is still fairly upbeat, very catchy, and the added instrumentals and vocal harmonies in the pre-chorus and chorus bring more to those sections of the song. “I’ve Got It!” and “Feature’s Dead, Angela” bring catchy instrumentals that drive the upbeat rhythm of those tracks, as well as some interesting vocal performances, from the impressive high notes in the chorus of “I’ve Got It!” to the intriguing melodies all throughout “Feature’s Dead, Angela.” The other half of the album contrasts from these tracks, as they’re a lot softer and slower in comparison. “Get A Grip” is an atmospheric intro with softer vocals that match perfectly, the acoustically driven “Summer Reading List” brings a memorable pre-chorus and chorus and a more laid-back and simplistic vibe overall, and while “Here’s One For The Kid In The Back…” and “How Am I Not Myself?” have much softer instrumentation, the vocals show off a lot more. Patternist’s latest LP is a captivating and quite memorable release, especially in the pop, pop rock, indie, and alternative scene. EPs Academy Killer “Lost In Make Believe” Academy Killer have released their sophomore EP, “Lost In Make Believe. Opening track “The Distance” brings lots of energy right away, shown through the catchy and hard hitting instrumentation driving the rhythm of the track. The song is very well written, as each section builds up to the next very well and the melodies on here are very memorable. That’s a word I’d also use to describe “Figure Me Out,” one of the most memorable tracks on here, from the verses that really let the vocals shine to the very catchy chorus. “While I Drown” is a huge standout, with the interesting rhythm, darker composition, and the alternative influences shown on the track (rather than just pop punk). The vocals and melodies on the track are intriguing, and the instrumentals accompanying those vocals help build up the song so well. “It’s True” also has these darker elements and influences, but while it’s a lot slower, the vocals get to shine a bit more in the verses and the instrumentals do the same during the chorus. “Looks To Kill” mixes influences of some older and more modern pop punk music, bringing tons of energy and being another very catchy one in every aspect. Second to last is “Seventeen,” which is arguably the ballad of the EP, with softer guitars in the verses (which let the vocals show a bit more at first again) before the song leads up to its bigger chorus, where the instrumentation really kicks in. Closing track “Tonight” is another big standout, bringing a lot of energy, a very memorable chorus and captivating performances, and mixing the band’s pop punk influences with the alternative rock ones they’ve experimented with throughout the record. With their sophomore release, Academy Killer try some new things with their sound as they combine a variety of influences to create an overall solid sophomore EP. Dreamwake “Dark Thoughts In Vibrant Minds” Dreamwake have released their debut EP, titled “Dark Thoughts In Vibrant Minds.” The intro of the opening track “God Complex” foreshadows what’s to come on this EP by showing the darker vibe found on the remaining tracks. There’s a great mix of clean and unclean vocals on here, from the impressive singing in the intro and more melodic (and very memorable) chorus to the heavier bridge leading up to the song’s breakdown. “Silhouette” is similar vocally, but the instrumentation really shines on here, through the guitar riffs leading the intro, drums building up the bridge and leading up to a catchy guitar solo, and the overall rhythm of the song. Lead single “Kaizen” starts out with much more melodic vocals that put on yet another very impressive performance, and the more aggressive second verse, bridge, and breakdown help elevate the track and show the band’s heavier influences. “After Dark” is very similar to the previous two tracks, as it has a pretty melodic start vocally as well, but the vocals deliver some impressive high notes and captivating melodies, and the instrumentation shows off during the breakdown before the clean vocals return. Closing track “Blue Dream” brings another good mix of heavier and more melodic vocals and instrumentals, and sums up a lot of the elements found on the EP, which makes it a good choice for the closer. “Dark Thoughts In Vibrant Minds” shows off Dreamwake’s interesting sound in the post-hardcore/metalcore scene, and is a great debut for the band. Commonweather “Sugar Sun” Commonweather have released their latest EP, titled “Sugar Sun.” Opening track “Mellow Drama” instantly shows how the band draws a lot of influence from pop punk and emo music, and also how well they mix those influences together to create their interesting sound. The vocals stand out quite a lot, bringing some really catchy melodies in the verses particularly, and speaking of which, the guitar solo towards the end is pretty catchy as well. “Crave” is a bit darker than the track before it, driven by catchy instrumentation (guitars and drums especially) in the intro. The song as a whole really embraces the emo and alternative influences in the band’s music. The EP closes with the title track “Sugar Sun.” The song is acoustically driven, which really allows the vocals and the unique vocal style to shine. It’s not as hard hitting instrumentally as the other two tracks, but I love the simplicity of the instrumentation, and the raw vocals that are incorporated later on bring even more emotion to the track, making it just as powerful (if not moreso) than the other two. Each song on “Sugar Sun” stands out from the rest, and the variety in the influences and the overall sound on this EP makes it a pretty impressive release from Commonweather.
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