Being that this is an emotional screamo band there are the shared dynamics with in the genre also occupied by Touche Amore, whose album "Stage Four " I also reviewed today. These guys have a less upbeat sound. The guitars ache and do not jangle along. There is an angrier grit to the screamed vocals. The guitars sound stunning. There is a great deal of depth. "Waiting" and "Broken" bleed together almost as one song. A similar thing happens with the post -rockish interlude that is "Set Adrift". "Death of Youth" has the melodic guitar carrying the weight of the song as the screamed vocal begins to sound like all the other screamed songs on this album. The band does elevate the vocals by locking in around them.
"Lost" really doesn't do much to distinguish it self from the other songs on this album. The lyrics stand out at little more on this song and give it a little more weight. "1994" finds the guitars digging deeper to provide a more expansive range of sound. They return to the more post-rock influences we have heard at other points in this album. "Memorial" really doesn't do anything that we have not heard already, at this point on this album. The song does swell up really powerfully to almost make you believe in the emotions they seem to be pouring into this.
This album works when the guitar is at it's most moving. The vocals are not as strong as those that were on the Touche Amore album, because as a whole we get the same vocal color all the way through on this album which keeps me from rounding it up past an 8.5, since vocals are one of the most important aspects of music to me. If you are a fan of these guys and prefer more scream than emo in the equation then this album might connect with you more than it did me, though I found it to be a very entertaining listen.
7.8
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