This was one of my favorite albums of 2013. Great stuff imo. I'll start this off since I suggested it I guess.
Grainy, heavy guitar tones that switch back and forth from being sludgy and riffy to being noisy and shoegazey. Vocals shift from being introspective and groaning to being cathartic screams and yelps. One of the opening riffs reminds me of a Cap'n Jazz song and in another song they get a little Jawbreaker-esque with a heavy distorted spoken vocal sample buried under those grainy guitar tones. I like the tremolo-laden instrumental bits that calm everything down for a little while before things kick back up again- the use of familiar chords and patterns really help tie them in with the other tracks. Lyrically, the album seems to be about feeling alienated and not living up to one's own expectations/being disappointed. Some drift into slightly more surreal territory with some interesting imagery and more metaphysical themes.
Favorite Tracks: Souvenir, Into Your Hands, The Dreamers, Pt. Dume. The only tracks that were kinda meh for me where Behave and Window Grey.
All in out I think it's a solid album. I think the first thing I said about it was that it's not explicitly emo but you can definitely hear some emo and related genres (I hear a bit of post-rock ala Mogwai in there) mixed in with the shoegaze and gloomy post-punk bits. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's a fan of darker, artsy, and more introspective punk/indie music. It's definitely something different in a sea of bands that just wanna be Cap'n Jazz.
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I spit bullets in my feet
Every time I speak
So I write instead
And still people want me dead
~msc
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