52. Touché Amoré - Is Survived By
Post-Melodic-Hardcore, Screamo
September 24
http://open.spotify.com/album/2Qs1H2KjF6Bk2lSgFjQpOj
What really struck my taste chord from this punchy record was the guitarwork. The energetic riffs sounded almost happy somehow, like upbeat hardcore or something, comfortable and so confident within itself that it didn’t care if it represented the usually furious genre in such a positive manner. But, of course, life is never all smiles and dances, and heartfelt screams tear right through the center of this joy, perhaps trying a bit too hard to express themselves, at times even exceeding its own emotions, but overall forcing a much needed frantic panic on top of the already exhaustingly exhilarating journey. It’s refreshingly chaotic without falling messy or relying on over-technicalities, maybe a touch too emo at times and maybe taking itself a little more seriously than it needs to, but producing such a compact delivery that it suffocates you in intensity and then bursts away before the job is done. Striking this balance right whilst keeping enough meat to entertain right until the end is a difficult thing to balance, yet they nail it, leaving us with an album which so indescribably special, and so indescribably precious.