Labels: self released
Review by: Andy Malcolm
While You Were Gone caught my ear on Emo Diaries 11, and in a fit of having had a few beers one evening I decided to order their CDEP from cdbaby. Then it turned up, so I decided to review it. And damn does it get off to a good start! “Sinner” (hmm, my godmo sense is tingling) is a quality slice of indie rock with mid / late 90s post hardcore leanings. The strong female vocals mean you end up with something that sounds like a cross between Pohgoh and Texas is the Reason. Tell me that having read this far you aren’t excited by that thought! “Sinner” is a great track, it blends slowburning pauses for thought with explosions of urgency and is a great revisiting of a style of music which you may have thought had long since run dry. But here is the bit where you run away screaming: it really is godmo. If you can get past the godmo you will be quite happy listening to this. Otherwise, you’ll be a bit disappointed. There are five tracks overall, the final four are not quite as good as the opener, but the title song is a good un for sure, they ease off on some of the power and play a calmer mid-paced song. It’s a nice contrast against the rockier post-hc efforts.
For those still with us who aren’t put off by overt godmo you will probably be more than content with the music. It’s solid post hardcore, and the fact that there have been no bands that sound that much like Pohgoh since Pohgoh broke up mean that I am a bit more lenient on the whole bible front. Shit, I listen to Mineral, I can look past the lyrics.