Robyn Writes

Review: Atlases – Upbringing [EP]

“Holy smokes Batman, we sure have some killer metalcore here!” That was the first thought that entered my head upon listening to Upbringing, the debut EP from Atlases. The Berkshire hardcore quintet are releasing their debut on January 20th and it is sure to break the hold any winter blues have on you and wipe away those cobwebs. Their music is loud with heavy and straight forward yet incredibly effective riffs. The aggressive vocal performance also packs a hell of an attitude! Every track on the EP shares in a common goal: to make your headbang!

Atlases’ claim to live and play like Parkway Drive gives them a hell of a lot to prove and while we can’t honestly say that they come close to matching Parkway with Winston’s growls, who does? It is obvious that they derive a lot of their inspiration from the likes of Parkway and BMTH, but in the form of a debut EP, it would be totally out of order to expect them to match their idols with a near perfect release.

So it’s not perfect, big surprise, but what have Atlases got? Their music is perfect for merciless headbanging and heavy boozing. ‘Betrayer’ opens the EP with a fast-heavy riffing, pounding kick-drumming and angry screamed vocals from Jack Parsons. The release carries on this theme from beginning to end, an unstoppable barrage of metalcore, but perhaps a touch lacking in artistic variation. Personally I’d like a bit more rhythmic variation in the growls as they’re spat from the vocal chords of Parsons – I’m not asking for clean singing, but more growled singing. You know what I mean; if you don’t, just think of Architects, or BMTH’s second album. A few melodic hooks could really drag a wider audience in and swell the fanbase. Having said that, I admit I do like my metalcore with a pinch of sugar, so I won’t hold that against Atlases.

A nice touch to refresh the music in your ears is the British twang that Parsons holds onto in his screams and growls. It isn’t as strong and noticeable as the thick Yorkshire accent that billows out of Oli Sykes, but the British inflection adds something that is different. As they progress as a band and get a few more releases under their belts, more variation (and hopefully melodies) will come out, but for now at least the vocals set them aside from the generic North-American screams that are pedalled out on the other side of the pond.

What conclusions can we make about Atlases from Upbringing? Well, if the title and music is reflective of the band members own upbringings, them they must have been pretty brutal! The riffs are heavy, the drums pound and the screams are as throaty as you’d like. It’s a good debut and it holds a lot of promise for the future. If these boys use it as the stepping stone it could be, there will be nothing stopping them from jumping up to bigger circuits and supporting those bands that have influenced them so greatly. Whether or not they take that step remains to be seen.

4 out of 5 high fives!

A Will Away – lyrical interpretations

After posting this review, Matt from A Will Away got in touch with me to talk about some of the lyrical themes present in the EP, which has definitely affected my interpretation for the better. He took the time to explain to me the concept behind the EP and the process of writing it, which sparked a really great discussion about different perspectives. I asked for his permission to share the below explanation, which is part of his initial email discussing Cold Weather:

I decided to shoot you a quick email to thank you for writing a review of Cold Weather and also to thank you for giving me a new perspective on how people might view the record. Cold Weather is called Cold Weather because we consider the climate to be a lot of what makes us who we are here in New England.

The idea of being a product of one’s environment is one that we carry with us (see our 2012 Full-Length Product of Your Environment) but on Cold Weather I made the decision to write songs from the perspective of the people who raised us and the people we love. Stepping into another person’s shoes as the protagonist for each song was a very different lyrical style than I’ve ever taken on in the past and I was very curious to see how people would receive it. I’m extremely glad that the first four tracks of the record landed well with you.

The Masochist’s Daughter is a song written from the perspective of two people that have been very large parts of my own life who’s marriages were plagued by infidelity. People who never had the strength to properly stand up for themselves and continue to this day to be in unhappy and unhealthy marriages. I attempted to capture the internal fury of being a spouse who is tied in life and love to a person who they could no longer trust or respect. I attempted to stand up for people with words who were too weak to do so for themselves with their actions.

Knowing that I likely won’t change your opinion on the track regardless I at least wanted to make sure that you didn’t see me as a misogynist. The weight of that song is a pain I feel every time I sing it – an ache for some people that I love in the same way that the rest of the record has created an emotional bond between myself and the protagonists I chose to write about.

In a music scene plagued by white teenagers whining about their problems I can completely understand writing me off as one of them because of the language and tone used in that track. I tried to tackle a lot of my thoughts, philosophies and opinions in 5 songs and it seems that in some way I fell short of my goal with that song despite its popularity.

I’m really glad that Matt got in touch, and I really commend his ambition in writing a record from so many different perspectives. While the track is still not my favourite on the record, it has changed how I think about it, and it’s made me appreciate the other tracks even more. Check out Cold Weather for yourself at Giant MKT’s Bandcamp.

Review: A Will Away – Cold Weather [EP]

After posting this review, Matt from A Will Away got in touch with me to talk about some of the lyrical themes present in the EP, which has definitely affected my interpretation for the better. Please check out his side of the story here.

A Will Away are a pop-punk band from Connecticut, and Cold Weather is their new EP. Have we got that in mind, fact fans? Good. It’s their first release with Giant MKT, and well, its name certainly lives up to what’s happening outside, but not necessarily on the EP. For the most part, Cold Weather is a warm, sunny affair with beautiful, guitar-driven hooks.

The first four tracks on the EP are outstanding. No, seriously. Matt Carlson’s vocals are full of emotion, with some fantastic little quirks, the rhythm section keeps everything perfect and the guitar goes so much deeper than your average band in this scene right now. It’s uplifting, extremely-self aware and impassioned. ‘Carousel’, the EP’s opener, starts out swinging with some great drums. ‘True North’ is perfectly polished, with mystical, jangly guitar and poignant reflections on faith. There are choruses that pack a proper punch, outros that leave you hanging on for more.

And then, as it leads into ‘The Masochist’s Daughter’, it all goes a bit south.

It’s not all about the lyrics. I promise, it’s not. In fact, were I to listen to this EP without that song, I’d probably give it full marks. It’s bouncy and fun, with loads of playful riffs, but with a deeper understanding of melody. However, there are plenty of bands out there who sing about heartbreak, unrequited love and betrayal without sounding like total douchebags – we aren’t in the grip of 2003’s “new-wave emo” any more. Ladies do crappy stuff too – I am one, I know. But there’s these sly little moments, or outright in ‘The Masochist’s Daughter’, where Cold Weather feels like an attack, like a Cute Is What We Aim For-style sneer on girls everywhere. And that makes me feel uncomfortable. And I know this band is better than that.

So ignore ‘The Masochist’s Daughter’. Rewind to the good stuff about living well. Listen to the guitars and enjoy pure pop-punk joy.

3.5 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Stillborn – Degraded Culture [EP]

Ooooh. Now. These Austrian metallo-hardcore monkeys really are right pissed off about something or other. Chuggy and and a little sludgy, Stillborn‘s Degraded Culture is a dirty shitnugget of cymbals, distortion and barely intelligible death-rattle growl-a-rama vocal larkery. Kind of like Bastions, but with a lethal dose of central European angst.

This actually all works rather well if you just want some testy filth in your ears. Track 3 “The Devil’s Face” is a nasty little cracker of the genre – great lurching riffs and deft use of the grunt to crown the breakdown, and in terms of subject matter, a simple little ditty about why religion is a REALLY bad thing. Bulls eye. Lyrically, of course it’s unapologetic Sixth Form throughout. Speaking personally, I even recognise some of their lines. I think I wrote much the same things on a Lever Arch folder while sat right at the back of A-Level English, at a time when I was fixated on Ministry and the Dead Kennedys and was properly angry about the West’s response to the Yugoslav Civil War. Or maybe it was Somalia. Not sure. It was ages ago.

Nonetheless, these boys really do seem to take the systems collapse / doomsday conceit very seriously. And why ever not. However, I only know this because the lyrics are helpfully posted up on the Bandcamp page so when you stream the tracks you can read along. Without this, you wouldn’t have a clue what they are banging on about. But the banging is the good bit. So I wouldn’t worry.

3 out of 5 high fives!

Review: Homage – Insignificant [EP]

2014. Is this the year of the melodic hardcore band ? Hasn’t, technically, every year since 2003 been the year of the melodic hardcore band because actually, most other music genres can just suck it? Or will 2014 just be yet another year where we’re flooded with the same band after the same band after the same band? Let’s just say I’m not losing hope quite yet. Homage released Insignificant in 2012, where it was probably prone to get lost in the never ending pseudo post-hardcore shitstream, but teaming up with Giant MKT, they’re giving it another shot.

The refreshing thing about Insignificant is that it’s tightly performed, well-produced and has a good number of intricate moments that you can really sink your teeth into. The unfortunate thing is that it sounds virtually no different to every other melodic hardcore band ever. Homage truly are a homage. Upon first listen, there are some great bits, like the Twin Peaks reference in ‘Groundwork’ and the melodic atmosphere built up in ‘Release Relief’. However, they’re somewhat forgettable, with no real impetus. It’s not to say that it’s a bad record – if anything, the EP sounds more like a ‘best of’ your favourite melodic hardcore acts. ‘Definitive’ really is that – it’s melodic hardcore 101, even if it’s a very good example of it. To their credit, it’s a difficult genre to truly stand out in, and given a longer record, with more room to experiment, Homage certainly have the potential to be great. It’s virtually impossible for an EP to have no standout track, so on Insignificant, it’s ‘Albeit’ that really demonstrates that potential. From the blast beats pervading below the distortion to the intricate indie-style picking that crashes into the verse with a dual-guitar assault, it’s a joy to listen to.

Homage still have a little way to go, but Insignificant is definitely worth picking up if this is your kind of thing. Just don’t expect it to break the mould just yet.

3 out of 5 high fives!