Release Date: 9 July 2013
Genre: Post-hardcore
Length: 32:18
Label: Victory Records
Similar artists: A Day To Remember,
The Devil Wears Prada, Escape The Fate, We Came As Romans
Rating: 3/5
Despite the rather worrying
opening of the first track featuring overproduced auto tune, “This Is Love” soon
picks up with some powerful guitars and aggressive vocals. Many of the songs
are filled with a well-rounded combination of intense screaming and impressive
vocals. I must admit however that while I was listening to this album I found
it hard to pick up on the feeling behind it - I was sort of torn between
emotions. You see, taken individually, each track has its own value to add to
an album, each track when listened to on its own is very good, however when
these tracks are strung together in an album, one after the other, something
just feels… off.
When listening to this album it’s easy to get
confused about what genre of music you are listening to, for instance many of
the songs are hardcore rock songs, with aggressive screaming accompanied by
very pleasing vocals from lead singer Ryan Saunders, and as I listen to these
tracks I am reminded of A Day To Remember;
however the last song, “Never Mind Me,” which is the album’s only ballad, comes
as a pleasant surprise, but still feels out of place.
What “Never Mind Me” also just adds to the
confusion of sound in this album. Tracks such as
“Birds of a Feather” and “Undecided Story” sound similar to the likes of All Time Low and Yellowcard which contrast the post-hardcore nature of the opening
tracks. Lotr, thought to stand for Life On The Road (not to be confused with Lord of the Rings) is a pop-rock hit with catchy
guitar riffs containing dance elements and a chorus that I’m sure even the most
hardcore metal fans will get up and dance to. Don’t get me wrong, the music is
good, very good in fact, but it just doesn’t seem to fit together.
Unfortunately, for me it is
still hard to understand the band's intentions behind their music. They have created such a variety
of different songs, each relating to a different genre and demographic. All this does, in my
opinion, is give them a very mixed identity, making each track unsatisfyingly random.
Another thing that doesn’t sit right with me
about this album is that they seem to be acting rather ostentatiously, I mean
while one cannot deny that they are approaching success and fame, some of the
lyrics make it sound like they are already at A Day to Remember status. Although they are good, I think it’s a
bit too early to be singing about “five guys taking over the world”, but then
again that could just be me.
Although
These Hearts show a lot of potential as far as instrument writing is
concerned, they have a tendency to stop any momentum a given song is building
up dead in its tracks. This album shows that, as a band, These Hearts are at a
crossroads, they can either go heavier or move into a more pop-punk feel,
either way I see a lot of success for them in future. The choice is up to them,
but if they keep on going the way that they are going, they might not last.
I will still be listening to this album for a
while, and some of the songs will definitely make it into my favourite
playlist, but I think given time and the right motivation we will see These Hearts reaching a whole new level
of awesome.
Despite is randomness; this week’s Song of
The Week goes to “Never Mind Me”
D
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