Stick To Your Guns - True View

Over the last few years, Stick To Your Guns have risen to the very top of the hardcore scene and are widely regarded as one of the best bands within it. Don't get me wrong, they've always been good. But the release of 2010's The Hope Division gained a lot of peoples attention. And then to follow that up with Diamond in 2012? They'd started to ride a wave, and they've been riding that wave ever since. Recently, the released their new record True View. Seeing as I'm going to see them on tour in a few weeks time, I thought it might be wise to check out the new songs ahead of the gig. Part because I like the band and I want to, part because their set is most likely full of new'uns and I don't want to look like an absolute wet wipe that doesn't know any of it.

Stick To Your Guns have this ability to take you on a journey through their records, both lyrically and musically. True View is no exception. It's full of hard and heavy tracks like The Sun, The Moon, The Truth: "Penance Of Self" raging through a collection of dark melodies and pit hungry riffs, setting the bar high for the rest of the album. Single Married To The Noise continues the heavy feel, especially in the verses, but progresses into a mammoth of a chorus that shows off vocalist Jesse Barnett's pipes. Cave Canem is crammed full of dirty and bouncy riffs, and a breakdown with the ability to fold anyone nearby in half. The Better Days Before Me is one of the thrashier sounding songs on the record, and contains both shades of light and dark. Lyrically it focuses on looking back at the past and taking lessons and positives from it to help mould yourself a better now, and the ending section of this song is really powerful due to the weight behind their delivery.

There are some slower and softer songs that provide a bit of relief and pace change, too. 56 is noticeably softer from the off, and immediately changes the vibe of the record. In a good way, of course. It feels like a pop song with more aggressive instruments, complete with an infectious chorus and verse melody that's slathered an upbeat and positive feeling soundtrack. Album closer The Reach For Me: Forgiveness Of Self comes as a welcome surprise too, and is probably the most commercial sounding track on the record. It reminds me of some of the tracks on the most recent Thrice album which is partly due to the similarity between Barnett and Dustin Kensrue's (Thrice vocalist) voices, but also because of how the song has been structured. It doesn't sound like the Stick To Your Guns that we know, but doesn't sound like a completely different band. It shows musical progression and that they're exploring their sound, which I fully back and support. The track is a mellow and slightly sombre end to the album, closing with the lyrics "And if I can't forgive myself for the pain I've caused, it'll always haunt me. I'm so sorry". A powerful end to an impressive album.

I'll be honest; at first I didn't like this record. Not to say I hated it, I just struggled to get into it at first. Diamond and Disobedient were near perfect, and I remember being hooked after the first listen. This record didn't hit me like that. After spinning it a few more times though, it grew on me, and I'm confident in saying that this is a killer record. They've completely followed the suit of their back catalogue and ensured that there isn't a bad song on it. And what I like the most about the album is it's variety. There's a bit of everything on here. There's some absolute mosh ragers. There's slower, more heartfelt, "grab a mate and wipe your single tear on their shirt" kind of songs. There are commercial radio friendly bangers. And the way they're spaced out allows the album to be constantly refreshing, as the pace is always changing. This album is a definitive statement; Stick To Your Guns are just as strong as ever, and they aren't going anywhere soon.

If you're able to go and see them on their upcoming UK tour, I highly recommend doing so. I've seen them before, and to say they pack a punch is a huge understatement. To hammer my point through, I was never that hot on them until I saw them live, and all of a sudden the music made sense and I fell in love with them. They are something else. Plus the bill is incredible, as they're bringing Being As An Ocean, Silent Planet and First Blood along for the ride. I'll be at the Birmingham show with my better half, who is essentially an emo kid that enjoys a good breakdown from time to time. Come and join the party and enjoy good breakdowns with us.

D.S

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Being As An Ocean - Waiting For Morning To Come

It's been a couple of years since we last heard from post-hardcore heavyweights Being As An Ocean. And for good reason. Since the release of their self titled album in 2015, a number of hurdles presented themselves. Their drummer left the band in the back end of 2015. They signed to Equal Vision Records, and announced the arrival of Jesse Shelley (Sleepwave live drummer) to the band. They set an album release date for June 2017, which wasn't met, and no explanation was given as to why. In response to this they acquired the rights to their album, bought out of their record contract with Equal Vision, and became an independent band. And then, on Friday the 8th of September, Waiting For Morning To Come was released. I don't know about you, but I hadn't been waiting for morning. I'd been waiting for this album. I'd also been waiting to win the lottery and for someone to invent teleportation so I can go to all the amazing tours America gets, but I guess it makes sense to deal with things that already exist. Being As An Oceans new album now exists. So I've checked it out.

The first half of the album runs in a sort of pattern, an interlude, followed by a track, followed by an interlude and so on. The interludes almost act as a breather of sorts, a palette cleanser in between tracks, setting the tone for what's about to follow. Opener "pink & red" flowing into "Black & Blue" is a perfect example of this, the delicate emotive piano of the former gently guiding you into the soft and soothing tones of the latter, opening with the question "Have you ever heard that love is a metaphor?". The track continues to subtly rise and fall, allowing instruments to creep in from the background to add to the atmosphere, before dropping out and stripping down to allow the vocals and lyrics to really stand out. The next two tracks follow the same pattern, with "Glow" showcasing the first distorted guitar of the album. The verses, completely soaked in reverb and stripped to the bare minimum, dynamically rising and falling before exploding into what I think is one of the biggest choruses on the album. Both Joel (vocals) and Michael (guitar/vocals) deliver their vocals with such rawness and passion, really making you listen to what they're saying and helping the honesty of the lyrics really hit home. The interlude into a song pattern is really good at pacing the flow of the album. It took me a couple of listens to properly appreciate it, but it gives the album an almost movie-like feel, the interludes acting as transitions between all the different "scenes".

"Dissolve" and "OK" stand out as what I imagine will be crowd favourites. "Dissolve" has been getting airplay for a while, initially being released last year, and "OK" has been popping up on YouTube as they've incorporated it into their live set. Both songs sport memorable choruses with really powerful lyrics. Michael has such an incredible voice, arguably one of the best in post hardcore today, and he really utilises his range here, most notably on the line "And I wear my heart on my sleeve so you can watch it bleed". The chorus really breathes and pulses, much like a heart, which may or may not have been intentional, but when the guitars swell and flourish it completely lifts the chorus and creates one of those goosebump moments. They've also done something very brave on this album with the track "eB tahT srewoP ehT", which, as you may guess from the name, is entirely in reverse. The track played forwards is a little confusing lyrically as, well, everything is backwards, but the music still works and the track plays out as an experimental interlude. However, I stumbled across a reversed version of the track on YouTube, and when played backwards the song amazingly also works in reverse. Or the right way round, depending on your view. It's kind of confusing. It makes a very interesting addition to the album, and it's the first time I've seen a band intentionally release a song in reverse. The whole album is great, but the stand out track for me is album closer and title track "Waiting For Morning To Come", which from the off is musically the closest to the sound they incorporated on previous albums. It's almost an Easter Egg of an album closer. Go on the journey, drift through the calm, and end the journey with a familiar friend. The lyrics are brutally honest and full of so much feeling, effortlessly wandering in and out of dynamic changes like it's childs play. A very gentle end to a very gentle, moving album. The track ends with a crooner style saxophone, ending things with a touch of class. But that's really what the entire album was. A touch of class. Not over indulgent, not so relaxed that it becomes a chill out album, but (without sounding too much like Goldilocks) it was just right. They've done it again.

There's a quote on this album that says "I want you to listen very, very carefully". And I agree. You really should. On a whole, this entire album is soothing. It's relaxing, atmospheric, beautiful, serene, mellow. Musically, it's calm. However, it also shows glimpses of pain, depression, grief and anguish, especially in the vocals. This, paired with tasteful sonic bursts in the music, thrusts the emotive content skyward and really takes you on an emotional ride. This might not be the post hardcore album that you were expecting, but it is definitely worth your time. A true musical experience, with elements of bands like PVRIS, Emarosa and Michaels previous band The Elijah running throughout. 

As mentioned previously, the album came out on September 8th, and is available literally everywhere that you can think of. If you want to sit back, relax, and really get lost in something, this is the perfect album to accompany you. 

D.S

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