View The Review
6 out of 10
"A new artistic peak for hardcore?"
Such is the PR blurb on the sheet that accompanies Defeater's latest effort. Some lofty claims I do think. Not that there is anything wrong with having goals and believing in yourself and musical skills.
In a nutshell they are children of the American Nightmare school of post-hardcore, pinning emotion to their sleeves and not afraid to show a different influence or element within their shouty racket. While this is always admirable it's not really anything new, American Nightmare nailed this particular style with effortless ease during their day and there is no doubting how influential they have been on the current generation of hardcore bands. Defeater do indeed borrow liberally from this influence but sound like they have picked up a thing or two from post-rock too. They enjoy moments of calm and little guitar leads that sound like twinkling stars before pounding you over the head with the minor key, melodic riffs and drums. It does get samey in quite a few places with the pounding intro giving way to quiet introspection before the build-up and into the pounding once again.
Nothing new I will emphasise but certainly well written, produced and played and with enough heart and honesty to warrant further investigation.
Listen: www.myspace.com/defeater
Tracklist:
1. The Red White And Blues
2. The Bite And Sting
3. A Wound And A Scar
4. Home Ain't Never Home
5. Singing New York Town
6. Beggin in The Slums
No comments:
Post a Comment