Page Of Concrete - Remembrances - Tape (2014)

Labels: self released
Review by: Oli Saunders

This is a lovely put together package of which the style nods it heads firmly towards DIY 90s emo. The numerous photocopied inserts, the pictures of buildings, windmills and a map. The typewriter-esque font. The large inked stamp on the front is further evidence, only the skeletor like creature hinting that this might not be emo. The opaque murky green coloured tape doesn’t quite fit with the style but still looks cool. The only downside of the package is that the tape is blank!

So, here I am streaming Page Of Concrete’s songs on Bandcamp. It turns out they play screamo and their sound generally fits into the more modern US style that has emerged. I’m not a fan of this style; I’m sure they are putting their hearts into it but it’s missing something. I bet it would have sounded better on tape where the rawness comes through. The music is a bit all over the place, which it’s allowed to be, but messy doesn’t always equal chaos. ‘Chase Cunningham’, the second song, seems uneccessary and contrived. The best song by far is ‘Interlude’, in which during 6 minutes there is good balance between melody and harshness and the dual vocals work well. Still, it doesn’t maintain my interest to the end. Some okay screamo overall but it needs work.

19th August 2015