Skip to main content

ALBUM REVIEW: "True View" by Stick To Your Guns

   Stick To Your Guns have been dealing in frenetic, anthemic hardcore punk for almost 15 years now, and their sixth studio album True View follows the same well-tread path that they (and so many other similar bands) know so well. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; they certainly know how to put together a banger or two, but it really depends on where you sit on the fence with hardcore punk. For me there was just enough of interest to keep my attention for the whole album and keep me relatively entertained, but on second and third listens there really isn't much there for me and I suspect that this will be the case for most. I mean, you can only hear the same build up and breakdown formula so many times before it becomes exhausting. The strongest element of True View is the lyricism, which has always been the biggest stake I've held in Stick To Your Guns' music, but even in this corner the band has lost some of the vitality and impact they once had. I don't know if it's because I wasn't already upset and looking for affirmation going into this album, but I often found myself wondering exactly what I was meant to be emotional or triumphant about. And with 13 tracks all aiming to be super emotional and uplifting it all becomes too much by about two thirds of the way through. In conjunction with the traditionally flat dynamic contrast of hardcore punk, True View became very hard for me to enjoy as a whole after the first spin. There are more than enough tunes to get the mosh pit moving, though, and they've already proven that they can't go wrong it that department. So that's something.


   Favourite Songs: Cave Canem and Doomed by You

    Least Favourite Songs: Married to the Noise and 56

   Rating: C-

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1 YEAR LATER: "22, A Million" by Bon Iver

   Bon Iver's third studio album turns 1 in about a week (where did that year go?), so I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about how my impressions of the album have changed - or how they haven't - over the last 12 months. When this album was released I was more excited than I think I ever have been to hear a new album. For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my all time favourites, and I love his self-titled second album too, so I had huge expectations for this album, but was also wary that expectations might ruin my experience of the music. This was particularly the case for 22, A Million , because it is unlike anything else Justin Vernon has released. There have been hints at this more processed, electronic direction previously, like the song "Woods" on the Blood Bank EP and occasional flourishes on Bon Iver , but 22, A Million is a drastic departure from the Bon Iver sound we had grown accustomed to at this point in time. Or at least, that's what I thought...
Post a Comment
Read more

ALBUM REVIEW: "Mesmer" by Northlane

   On Friday Northlane released their fourth studio album Mesmer without any warning, and it's pretty awesome. Fans that were keeping up had been getting hints for a while, with cryptic announcements and a seriously cool chatbot, but Mesmer was a complete surprise for everyone, and one that has brought with it a more cohesive and complete sound for the band.    2015's  Node was a great way to open up the second chapter in the band's trajectory and featured a fantastic performance from new singer Marcus Bridge, but definitely felt like a transition album for a band that had forged such a signature sound and was in the middle of great change. Mesmer immediately feels a lot more comfortable than Node  for a bunch of reasons, which is to be expected now the band has been touring with Bridge almost non-stop for more than two years. While the production on Node didn't quite fit the sound they were going for and seemed a little flat across the board, David Bend...
Post a Comment
Read more