Posted on July 1, 2010 - by Editor

Record Reviews: Heartsounds/ Hollowpoints/ Beatsteaks

Until We Surrender
HeartSounds
Epitaph Records

From the remnants of melodic death-metal band Light This City founding members Laura Nichol (guitars/vocals) and Ben Murray (guitars/vocals/drums) have forged a new identity and sound in HeartSounds. It’s an incredibly melodic record relying on the to and fro (harmonic) vocal shift between the two singers and the up-tempo pace (a leftover ingredient from their previous band perhaps) is guided by catchy guitar riffs and massive power chords. The record is full of pop sensibilities but still contains enough heartfelt grit and driving energy which add variety to a sound which could have been in danger of becoming monotonous. The album strangely sounds nostalgic in parts as a hark back to the mid 90s fusion of melodic sensibilities and up-tempo punk rock which had become so popular, but Heartsounds manages to reinvent the sound with its own identity. Nick Diener of The Swellers assisted the duo with vocal production and the results were beneficial as the dozen tracks don’t become stale at any stage but future output may benefit from some guest vocals to add more diversity. Although not a record or sound that will suit everyone (what sound is!) it should appeal to fans across genres and acts a bridge between melodic punk, indie and pop punk.

Old Haunts On The Horizon
Hollowpoints
Concrete Jungle Records

This Seattle based punk rock trio have been around for a few years yet I hadn’t come across them previously and this being their first record in five years is perhaps one of the reason why. I can’t comment on previous releases but the band has managed to put together an incredibly likable, generally fast and melodic nearly poppy street punk record full of hook laden sing-alongs. The song writing and arrangements are well thought out and create a infectious feel with vocalist/guitarist Matty McKinney, bassist Benny Early, and drummer Dan Colley offering a straight up four chords upbeat punk rock record full of energy. The vocals really grow on you and I have read several comparisons to Dillinger Four but the vocal melodies are easy on the ear and hint at a band that is incredibly comfortable within their sound, not necessarily offering something groundbreaking, but what they do, they do very well. It’s not an album without lyrical thought either, ‘God Save Anna Nicole’ and ‘Service Is Our Business’ both offering social and political commentary but really the strength of the record is the ability to play it loud and lose yourself in the sound.

.Limbo Messiah
Beatsteaks
Warner Music Germany

How exactly do you categorise Germany’s Beatsteaks? Although this record was released in the bands native Germany three years ago it only recently was officially bought out in the UK which is an oddity but the band comfortably straddle the line between accessible hardcore, quirky pop punk ditty’s and a trippy rock style, in essence a band unafraid to experiment with its sound at in stages you wonder if it’s the same band throughout the album! What does stand out is Arnim Teutoburg-Weiss’s wide vocal range from guttural, to controlled high pitched and melodic in the turn of a verse. The opening track is decidedly dark (‘As I Please’) and ‘Jane Became Insane’ is full of pop sensibilities but the schizophrenic sound continues with the groovy ‘Meantime’ before the fast and driving ‘Demons Galore’ (although interluded with peculiar breaks). The variety of sound continues throughout touching on hip swaying cool, quasi reggae and R&B fuelled ‘She Was Great’ (which could be mistaken as a Flight Of The Concorde’s track). The final two tracks are more upright rock with album ender ‘e-g-o’ throwing in the mix a different singer (sounding Brit pop on its intro), but it’s still an infectious track and leaving a overall impression you have just wandered down a corridor of the loony bin and been exposed to a range of personalities stuck within the collective body of the band.