Labels: Waking Records
Review by: Alex Deller
Further distancing themselves from those emo temper tantrums of yore, Life At These Speeds spout forth Landfilled, another slow-to-boil number drawing inspiration from the Argument and suchlike. Vocals are largely crooned with the old yells struggling to be heard at half volume while the music writhes leisurely around itself, building carefully and popping with a sudden, slightly unexpected climax.
Sinaloa take a similarly subdued approach, starting coolly with soft yet driving drums, sung-spoke vocals and drifting backups before jutting into spikier territory and hunkering down to work on another classy emo effort. After some urgent flapping around things peter out with a dawdling instrumental section that’s pleasant enough while it lasts, if somewhat inconclusive. As ever, the lyrics are great and the chosen subject for discussion is both novel and intriguing, instantly placing them one notch higher than any band peddling abstract tales of mawkish heartbreak.
Now for the inevitable closing paragraph. It’s a good little record for sure, maybe even great. Thing is, I just can’t muster the spirit to genuinely rave about it. Perhaps it was the level of anticipation leading up to its release, but, whilst enjoyable, there’s a very minor air of disappointment about this 7″ that I just can’t shake. Strange.