Reviews

Protagonist Music

Hearts Apart Number One to No One cassette

While both the band and their label’s internet presence refer to HEARTS APART as being a “punk rock” or “punk rock’n’roll” band, they really come off as more of a blues-infused, indie/alt-rock band. I think one would be hard-pressed to make the argument that this falls anywhere within the punk umbrella, except maybe in the modern usage of “pop punk” as a sort of catch-all genre for any sort of guitar-based poppy music. This isn’t meant to be disparaging, the band is perfectly fine, the songs are super catchy, it just sounds in a closer vein to the HOLD STEADY or something like that rather than the ERGS!, with whom the label makes a point of comparing them.

Icepield A​ɪ​SP​ɪ​ː​LD cassette

I don’t know how to pronounce this cassette’s title, but I do know that this is late ’90s/early ’00s emo. The songs are on the sophisticated end of the genre: tense, scale-crawling guitar parts appear alongside layered power chords. The former come with occasional chugging riffs, which give it a pop punk tint. The vocals are a real SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE/BRAND NEW whine. The band mostly plays it safe musically but stretches the boundaries a few times, which kept me on my toes.

Latest God Latest God cassette

This Australian group wears their influences on their sleeves here. Hardcore in the vein of SWIZ, mid-period 7 SECONDS, DAG NASTY, EMBRACE, etc. Six songs in total here, including a cover of “Clique” by MINUTE MINDER who I am unfamiliar with, so I can’t speak to whether it is better/worse/different than the original. Musically, it’s exactly what one would expect when seeing the names listed above. The vocals go from singing to yelling at times, but what gets me here is the vocal delivery. While the singer has a style all his own, at times it’s reminiscent of Dave Smalley, and then there are parts that are full-on channeling Ian MacKaye. While LATEST GOD is definitely inspired by what came before them and is following the blueprint given, they are forging their own path.

Lesser Minds Futile cassette

New Jersey’s LESSER MINDS come out swinging with this debut cassette EP. Futile is a very pissed-off, riffy affair in the vein of classic CEREMONY, with some of the dissonance of chaotic bands like DEADGUY. The abrasive and oppressive sounds omitted by LESSER MINDS is certainly far from easy listening. Recommended.