PHP (short for Psycholiday Project) plays old school styled hardcore from Italy, but it's not as simple as that. Now, they're not exactly original, but they do offer some different takes on the genre here. Sometimes it's a little bit more melodic, sometimes it's a little bit heavier, sometimes it's faster and more traditional, and sometimes it's a bit slower and more diverse. "Dubbio" even breaks out some shockingly rhythmic riffing with some start/stop chord progressions and different types of vocal arrangements. I don't really like that stuff so much, however the melodic post-hardcore influences during the other portions of the track are amazing. One awesome thing about this band in general is how fucking slick the basslines are - running all over the place between the guitars and the drums. The bassist is fucking great, and I'm really glad his presence is known on every track. The production is alright, but it's a little bit too spacious in the mixing department. The guitars are too ragged as far as the distortion goes, and the gaps in the mix leave things sounding sort of flat, with the vocals left slightly out front. They just need to tighten up the sound a little bit (the performance is really tight, that's not an issue). The layout is black, white, and red, but I'm not sure I like it. I like the bold text arrangements, but I don't like the way the band photos are sort of altered, and there are too many fonts used, especially on the front cover. It gets the job done, and it looks okay, it could be better is all. The lyrics are all in Italian, which is very cool, and instead of offering translations they offer a statement in English about the lyrics in general, about which they state, "We don't need politic or political anthems, we prefer to talk about our lives and our experiences..." This is a good record, but they're capable of more. "Ad Alta Tensione" is an awesome song, and I'd love to hear them nail a better recording and head in that direction, because it covers all the bases of what they have to offer. Not bad.
[Goodwill]
Running time - 10:00 (approximately), Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: Venti Contrari, Forse Migliore?, Ad Alta Tensione]
Goodwill Records - http://www.goodwillrecords.net
