A few months ago, my good friend Pat from Analecta, who also runs a venue in town (and plays in my ska band), nearly demanded that I go see Comrades, other friends of his that he’d toured with. If I remember right, I almost missed that show, but man, am I glad I didn’t, because sleeping on these guys is a mistake.

With vocals split between drummer Ben Trussell’s hardcore shouting (with a couple clean vocal lines thrown in) and bassist Laura McElroy’s angelic alto, and guitarist Joe McElroy spending half of his time in ambient post rock passages and the other half riffing metallic, Lone/Grey is an album that gets its strength from contrasts. Most notably, subdued, atmospheric post rock and, and this is no joke, middle ‘00s metalcore. This is an album that reappropriates the best parts of the over-the-top xcorex scene (breakdowns are back, you guys) into a strong work that is consistently powerful.
If you’ll excuse me, I have to track down a copy of their previous album, Safekeeper, also.