Review by: James Williams
Awake and Empty is Troubled Coast’s latest full length. For those who haven’t heard
Troubled Coast, they play modern melodic hardcore, infused with post-hardcore and
pop-punk. There’s a good mix of harshness and melody from the vocals. The guitars
are where most of the melody comes from, which is where Troubled Coast show off
their post-hardcore leanings. There are a number of spoken word passages throughout
the album that will remind people of La Dispute. That comparison aside, there are a
lot of different textures at play here, much more than on previous efforts. The song
structures seem more straightforward, there are less off-kilter moments and the lyrics
are audible even at their most harsh. One of my standout tracks is fourth song 1967,
because I think it embodies TC’s sound. They lean more towards pop-punk in the
song’s choruses, with some really nice melodies to counteract the hardcore vocals in
the verses and with the instrumentation not being overdone, it sounds like a definite
step forward for them. After 1967, that use melody becomes more regular. Missoula/
Big Sur is an epic song, with distant melodies sung over the top of driving guitars in
the opening bars before some of the most emotive singing I’ve heard from Troubled
Coast, period. The longer Awake and Empty goes on for, the more it sounds quite
retro, harking back to some of the last 90s early 00s screamo, before it got overrun
with bands using autotune and pointless electronics. Another thing worth mentioning
is that Awake and Empty is over before you know it. The songs are kept to a sensible
length and Troubled Coast don’t throw in any overly indulgent moments, making this
album nicely to the point. Awake and Empty is a great effort, which shows Troubled
Coast’s ability to step back and evolve into something more than just another post-
hardcore band.