Bars "Introducing..." CD
[Equal Vision]
Formed by members of Give Up the Ghost, The Hope Conspiracy, and The Suicide File, this band takes a far more rock 'n' roll approach to their hardcore/punk roots. So while there's definitely an early-80's hardcore/punk vibe to some of this stuff, there's a lot more straight up rock happening, which seems to be somewhat of a common turn for a certain facet of hardcore these days. I'm not saying I mind that, I can get a little tired of it, but this record is a solid listen with a few surprises. "You Are My Target Audience" and "Toecutter" both build around slow and sludgy chord progressions that definitely took me by surprise (though the latter is a little darker and more in your face); "Up to My Neck" is a straight up rocker with no bullshit, complete with quick melodic leads and classic styled riffs - catchy as hell but still pissed; "I Was Asleep By Now" is short as shit and a little more melodic - definitely a powerful standout; while "Too Far Down" is nearly double the length of the other tracks and crawls out of a plodding set of clean riffs with spoken vocals and distant screams (by far the most ominous composition herein), and closer "This Is It" also uses some similar dynamic shifts with lots of feedback and spoken vocals interspersed with the hard-hitting midpaced rock fury. Upon my initial listen I was somewhat let down by the recording because it does come off as a little dry, but the second or third time around I was used to it and it didn't get to me at all. I definitely think there needs to be a wider range of low-end tones and a little added brightness on the high-end, but turning up the bass a little would help that out a lot. I think the guitar tone's somewhat flat, it needs a little more grit to make some of this stuff really hit home, but for the most part everything is fairly clear and sounds close to the mark. It's alright, not great, but it works out. And I do love the layout on this thing. It's pretty minimal but quite tasteful, with a jet black booklet using lots of subtle gloss overlays and close-up shots of a black guitar along with the lyrics, and that's about it. Clean and consistent. The lyrics all seem to be personal, but nothing's too terribly direct (at least in meaning, the delivery is dead on direct), which can be a plus. "Got holes in my fucking hands 'cause I can't fucking sleep, And those holes in my fucking hands lead me to believe that I waited and I waited for something that's gone all wrong, And I waited for something that's come undone..." Not bad. If they keep at it I bet they'll really start to light it up, because some of these songs do kick ass. If they keep their bitter attitude (or, hell, even embrace it more) and pick up the pace a little more often while still maintaining the slower, darker riffs... they'll really be onto something. I'm a sucker for a quick, to the point track that really lets the lyrics pull no punches. Not a bad start. (7/10)
Running time - 29:04, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Up to My Neck, Toecutter, I Was Asleep By Now, Too Far Down]
Equal Vision Records - http://www.equalvision.com

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