BONEFLOWER – A(r)mour
Boneflower hail from Madrid and return three years after their debut Empty Rooms, Full Bodies with their latest album called A(r)mour. A complex and strong mix of epic screamo with post-rock ambiance and passages. The starting track and single, Saltpeter clearly paints the band’s iconic sound with brushes of mesmerizing post-rock and emotional screamo. The guitar landscapes are one of the highlights as are the passionate vocals that swirl with frenzied anguish and rebellious overtones singing about loss, fractured relationships and longing. That context of longing and heartbreak is continued through Vestiges, the second track that seems to approach the loss of a loved one.
After the deep and profound emotion of the two tracks, there is Bromelia, a melancholic guitar based interlude that is an apt space for contemplation and leads the road to Bromelia, probably one of the more straightforward songs on the album, with strong post-hardcore leanings that is the heavier side of a band that thrives for being able to show the softer and dreamy side of emotions as well as the darkest.
Perfect listen for those who like contemplative screamo with a catchy and straightforward edge.
YURODIVY – Tell me when the
party’s over
Yurodivy come from France and this is their second LP titled Tell me when the party’s over. The band manages to combine screamo and post-hardcore in a dynamic that presents itself with strong and catchy riffs, an overworking bass and enthusiastic drumming. There is also an element that sticks out, and that is the use of some austere like choir that is somewhat gothic in its nature. These choral flourishes have a subtle yet effective presence.
Angst, alienation and some nihilism seem to signal their presence all along the 11 themes of the album. There are some interesting highlight that display a dark type of melancholy such as in the track Algorithm, that has a haunting piano as a foundation for clean and tortured vocals. Don’t define me as a pessimist, Love and Bad Habits are some of the more straightforward tracks that throw us into a whirlwind of well-directed aggression.
All in all, the album is a great fit for those who want post-hardcore that is edgy but gloomy enough.
ONES & TWOS (Compilation)
This comp. features 14 tracks from some interesting screamo bands all over the globe. The songs are all unreleased and fresh approaches to the genre, be they laced with some mathcore or featuring strong acoustic leanings. It starts of with Piet Onthel, a band from Malaysia that present the song Fast-Forward, and as the name implies it is fast, unrelenting and powerful with occasional calmer passages. Next up, are Euclid C Finder, a band from the USA that are not newbies to the scene, Math is Murder is their offering, relying on complex and crushing riffs as well as fiery and brutal vocals. Then we are presented with a sudden but disquieting calm by LIMBS, a band from the Philippines that are keen in a sound that brings up the darker side of emotions, featuring shrieking vocals and gut-wrenching riffs creating an atmosphere that is heavy and menacing.
Screamo comes back with Yubari Gogo a band from Greece that plays a fierce but also contemplative sort of music. The track is heavy into echoed guitars and spoken word passages. Entzauberung from France continue the screamo trend with a tour de force, the song is mainly supported by spoken word and a tapestry of rebellious guitars.
Next comes some experimentalism from Brooklyn’s (USA) This place is the worst, whose use of keyboards is as playful as it is melodic. They open the door for Tokyo’s (JAPAN) Dosaken Vakchi Zigok whose experimentalism is as crushing as it is eye-opener for the never-ending possibilities in extreme music.
The experimental and exploratory side comes even more distinctive with the track Palace at 4 from Me,The hideous freak a project right out of Chicago (USA). The song dwells on melancholy and relies on atmospheric solemn passages. We are back in the tide of strong and fierce melodies with New Patterns by Orphan Donor (USA) whose mix of disarrayed and strong riffs create a mood that is dark and ominous. That mood is certainly carried perfectly by Blue Noise, a project by Maya Chun that combines lo fi production with a hybrid of screamo and blackgaze. The hardcore is back on track with Apostles of Eris (USA) that are as straightforward as they are effective. The light and darkness intermingle in the song Flurry by Elyrithe (USA) with absolute crushing vocals and riffs in a dark but deeply emotion atmosphere. More surprises come next with The Lng Silence (USA) that present a track that is unpredictable, crazy and fantastic. The longest track and closer of the comp. is provided by Kÿhl (Germany) whose exploratory kind of screamo give a satisfying closure to this odyssey of bands.
A comp. that will appeal to all those who seek new and interesting bands in the endless and enriching universe of extreme music.
Text : Cláudia Zafre
Label: Zegema Beach Records