Patsy O'Hara - Sings The Bourgeois Blues - LP (2013)

Labels: Per Koro – Phobiact
Review by: Alex Deller

Nabbed this one from the review pile as I knew these guys had done a split with Southern Lord signees Centuries and figured they might be worth a punt. Once the epic, latterday Earth intro is out of the way things seem to be shaping up for some fairly familiar stuff: rangy, full-pelt hardcore that’s semi-crusty, semi-melodic and fairly light on thrills. Thankfully, though, things pep up a bit and get a tad more interesting as the album develops, tracks like ‘Ardnaxela’ adding winding post-hardcore elements to the mix while elsewhere some enjoyably splenetic rock n’ roll influences shine through. The end result is like some sort of Burning Love / Young Widows / Kaospilot / Tragedy crossbreed, and while it could definitely benefit from a wadge more ferocity in terms of sound and delivery it’s certainly not a bad little listen. Sweet-looking gatefold sleeve, too.