Considering the vast amount of screamo/post-hardcore revivalist bands
knocking around in the US and UK at the moment, it comes as a quite a
surprise that one of the best current records in this genre would
instead come from Sweden. It’s true though, there has definitely been an
over-saturation of bands that “sound a bit like Defeater” or “sound a
bit like Touché Amoré” in recent years. As much as I admire Pianos
Become The Teeth for their ferocious onslaught and La Dispute for their
off-kilter poetic twist, the influence these bands have had on this new
wave of acts both sides of the Atlantic is often far too apparent and it
can get a bit boring to hear.
I’m a big fan of this genre and have been since I was a teenager, so
in defense of some of these unoriginal “wave-riders” that we see popping
up as an opening act for a band that sound exactly like a better
version of them, at least they aren’t all playing the tough-guy hardcore
or hardcore/death metal crossover you literally couldn’t escape a few
years back. You know the types, the kind of bands with fans that somehow
think they have more in common with the hip-hop scene than they do the
punk scene. Don’t get me wrong, I’m partial to a bit of grunting and a
punch the floor breakdown every now and again but my heart will always
lie with the emotional side of hardcore music.
This is where
Disembarked
come in. Not only are they from a country that doesn’t have as big a
scene for this style of music as the US and UK, but they’ve gone and
created a record that genuinely stands out in comparison to hundreds of
releases that those countries have provided in the last few years. ‘I Do
Nothing But Regret The Fact I Left’ is an aggressive, passionate and
intricate demonstration of why Disembarked deserve to be up there with
the bands I mentioned at the start of this review. Sure, there are a few
similarities to those bands (mostly Pianos Become The Teeth) but the
Stockholm five-piece have approached screamo in their own way, rather
than shamelessly copying an existing template.
This record owes as much to post-rock as it does shouty, fast music.
Parts of it sound like they could’ve been written by a really angry
Mogwai or Explosions In The Sky, if only you were to take away the raspy
screamed vocals. This combination of styles is a difficult one to pull
off, and Disembarked have hit the nail on the head. The emotional vocals
work really well with the spacey, atmospheric music and they switch
between the chaotic and the beautiful effortlessly and often.
I’m not even going to go into details analyzing each song or picking
out favourites as this whole release is packed full of changes and
highlights, all led by some fantastic drumming and clean, graceful
guitar leads. Oh, and did I forget to mention that this five track EP
lasts only eleven minutes?!!
Two days after deciding I would review this EP I realized they were
playing at a small pub venue for Nai Harvest’s record release party,
which I had already planned to attend without even knowing Disembarked
were on the bill. One of only three UK dates and literally two minutes
walk from my house! This band put so much into their live performance
and left such an immediate impression on the crowd that they completely
overshadowed the two supports that fol
lowed them. Take note –
Disembarked are something special.
5/5 Stars
FFO: Birds In Row, Pianos Become The Teeth, Caravels, Raein
Original Link - Dying Scene
Disembarked Bandcamp
Disembarked Facebook
The Haunt, Wednesday 22nd
May
