The Great Clearing Off "Within This Inch, We Are Free" 7"
[Cheap Art]
Like their CD EP, this 7" offers up some melodic hardcore/punk with snotty vocal yells and lots of interesting little riffs that possess a good deal of energy. Expect midpaced to moderately fast chord progressions layered with melodic lead lines, occasionally flirting with pop-punk styled palm-muting (see "Consumerism is Compliance" especially), but this isn't really something I'd align too closely with that genre at all. It's memorable, sure, but it's not polished or truly poppy in any way, so don't read a lot into that. I'm not really citing much of an indie/screamo angle this time at all though, and I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but I do feel like I enjoy these songs a touch more than the CD EP. The playing seems just a little tighter (still maintaining a bit of a loose edge), while the riffs still harness the same sort of dissonance and the songwriting is largely effective. I guess maybe this material is on the more straightforward side as a whole, though "March 29, 1998" is a lot different - opening with melodic basslines and clean guitars, a few slow lead runs, and building into a more frantic old school hardcore sort of rhythm before eventually slowing back down with lots of octave chords and discordant harmonics. Very nice. The recording isn't so bad either. The guitars need a little more crunch and the bass could be more prominent, but overall it sounds fine. The thinness of the guitars can bring out more of the slightly sloppy playing or minor tuning issues, but the drums sound good and I like the vocal tradeoffs as well. And the bass is there, but were it louder I think it might help to blend in with the guitars more. The record comes in a black and white and red sleeve with minimal illustrations. Inside is a basic xerox insert with the lyrics and such, which all tend to revolve around living your life for yourself and in the now, with a few leaning more towards the socio-political ideas that can be tied into that, while others are more on the personal and emotional side. "Open your eyes to those you stand with, realize what you've got, Because one day these will all be fading memories, crumbling into dust." I definitely like this material. "March 29, 1998" is an awesome song, and I'd love to hear that darker vein explored as equally as the energetic hardcore/punk stuff. Not bad at all. (7/10)
Running time - 10:00 (approximately), Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: Consumerism is Compliance, March 29, 1998]
Cheap Art Records - http://www.cheap-art.com

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