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| Album
Review |
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New Jersey’s Anchors for Arms set sail with
the ambition of reeling in as many new fans as they
can with their debut release Listen.React.
Intensity is an understatement for first track
‘The Roots’ which opens with a roar
of gang vocals and pummelling drums. The opening
few seconds of poppy guitar merely masks the chugging
riffs and the unjustified aggression seeping through
the bands stick man, who beats his heart out of
his kit. This is pleasantly juxtaposed by singer
Ryan Lawless’ soothing if not a little monotonous
voice.
‘Machines’ kicks straight into a riff
which would make Funeral for a Friend proud, before
breaking into a passionate explosion of vocals.
‘C’mon let’s go break their
arms’ offers some proper post-hardcore with
the stranglehold-like grip the track seems to
have on you. Its catchiness is hard to miss.
Like any album, the obligatory soft track is
required in an attempt to cool down the three
piece’s release. Lawless’ vocals appear
strong and expressive on track ‘No Gravity’
with a raw hint of Rise Against thrown in for
added effect. Nasally vocals equals emotion, well
definitely in this case anyhow. After two minutes
of fairly typical acoustic-esque music, the drums
kick in , quickly followed by ripping guitars
to make this track a definite standout.
After the first few tracks the album simply trails
off and you get the impression that whilst these
guys are clearly impressive musicians, who have
a knack for creating cleverly arranged music fused
with passion and hardcore, perhaps these guys
would have been better releasing two EP’s
throughout the year instead of releasing an album
which to me seems like it would have benefited
for a little bit of extra time.
Track ‘Come Together’ offers the
odd noodley guitar riff which perks you up for
a little bit but the problem personally is the
sheer monotone vocals which seem to remain the
same pitch throughout the 11 track release. Whilst
track ‘Beyond all Doubt....’ is the
first time the band seem excited as the poppier
side of the guys is unleashed, still hindered
by vocals however this is a surprisingly good
song.
Anchors for Arms debut release shows a hell of
a lot of promise and they seem to clearly understand
the technicalities of what makes a good song,
however the disappointment comes when you realised
that the vocals have a pitch range as varied at
Stephen Hawking and this is turn made what could
have been a superb album merely a slightly above
average release. Maybe next time try a little
EP as a taster, and see how that goes. Good attempt!
3/5
Review by Darrell Blount |
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| Band
Members |
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Ryan Lawless (Vocals, Bass)
Kenny Donovan (Guitar, Vocals)
Chris Sanders (Guitar, Vocals)
Matt Valenzuela (Drums) |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. The Roots
2. Machines
3. C'mon Lets Go Break Their Arms
4. No Gravity
5. Dead Weight
6. Explosions
7. Come Together
8. 50 Is Conservative, 60 Is Productive
9. Beyond All Doubt, Hope Lies To Us All
10. On
11. Kingdom Came (It Looks Like We're On Our Own)
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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