post hardcore

Record #565: Hopesfall – Arbiter (2018)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Despite my love of mid-2000s Christian post-hardcore (exhibit A, exhibit B, exhibit C…it goes on), I had somehow missed Hopesfall during their heyday. I remember hearing the name tossed around, but I always lumped them into the same pile of hyped bands that I didn’t have any interest in, like Haste the Day, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, etc. (someone is going to tell me I need to listen to them now, I can feel it).

So when a friend recommended their most recent release, I was expecting a warmed over Underoath clone (their place on the Equal Vision roster didn’t help).

I was absolutely not expecting the best mix of hardcore and space rock this side of Cave In.  Continue reading →

Record #562: gates – Bloom & Breathe (2014)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

I was previously unaware of gates when I discovered 2016’s Parallel Lives. But I quickly fell in love with that album’s blend of tender indie rock songwriting and epic post rock composition.

So when my friend Rob offered their debut full-length up in a trade for a copy of my band’s full-length, I took him up on it.

And while Bloom & Breathe is a little less tight than its follow up, there’s a rawness here that makes it just as rewarding.

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Record #561: Chastity – Death Lust (2018)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

For the last few years, it’s been suggested by a number of music snobs (or at least by me) that we’re currently in a post-genre landscape.

While the dividing lines between, say, dream pop and post-hardcore have generally been laid out pretty clear, these days there’s so much cross-pollination between influences that music taxonomy is an almost fruitless undertaking.

Case in point: Death Lust, the debut record from Canadian solo project Chastity. When I went to add the files to my iTunes, the cursor sat in the “genre” tab for several minutes, blinking mockingly at me as I tried to put a name to this (I copped out and settled on “alternative”). Continue reading →

Record #560: mewithoutYou – [Untitled] (2018)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

After the release of the doomgazy single “Julia” and the subdued [untitled] e.p.,  speculation was high as to what the forthcoming [Untitled] full-length would bring.

But the similarity of covers between the releases seemed to promise an explosion.

Across social media, that theory seemed to be confirmed. When drummer Rickie Mazzotta was asked if the full-length would be as quiet as the e.p., he said, “that’s porch-sittin’ music. The album is cliff-diving music.”

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Record #559: mewithoutYou – [untitled] e.p. (2018)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Few artists have as diverse and unpredictable a sonic palette as mewithoutYou. From the scorched-earth post-hardcore of [A–>B] Life to the ambient punk of Catch For Us the Foxes to the rambling quirkfolk of it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright, few bands have created more different-sounding music that still sounds distinctly like themselves.

And nowhere is that wide-ranging individuality as completely displayed as the twin untitled releases that came out this year.

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Record #558: mewithoutYou – Pale Horses (2015)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

In the years following Ten Stories, a few things happened to mewithoutYou.

They added Brandon Beaver, who was a session player on Ten Stories as a full-time member. Then, they went on a special tour to celebrate Catch For Us the Foxes. Finally, they signed to Run For Cover Records, a haven of post-hardcore and punk bands.

You could look at that set of datum and conclude that they were returning to their punkier roots. And you’d be right.

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Record #557: mewithoutYou – Ten Stories (2012)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

After the rambling folkiness of it’s all crazy! many mewithoutYou fans weren’t sure what to expect. Several friends washed their hands of the band, firmly deciding that their best days were behind them.

And even though I had liked it’s all crazy! I must admit that a part of me worried that it might be more than a one-off. When the first singles were released from Ten Stories, the fanbase was apprehensive. Continue reading →

Record #554: mewithoutYou – Catch For Us the Foxes (2004)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

As much as I’ve looked forward to this section of my collection, I’m sitting here with “January 1979” blaring at a complete loss of what to say about this record.

Do I talk about the broad scope of Aaron’s lyrics as he dissects theology, philosophy, and his own mental state in a yelping shout? Do I talk about how the rest of the band broke the doors off of punk music to create some of the greatest soundscapes put to tape? Do I talk about how over the last fourteen years, no record has meant more to me?

Because this record is all that and more. And if I didn’t have work to do today, I could write about this record all day.

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