Labels: Run for Cover
Review by: Joe Callaghan
Yet again, more melodic hardcore; the soundtrack to your bi-monthly cutting off the bottom of your jeans and skateboarding around a desolate Sainsbury’s car park. Melodic hardcore really hit its peak in the late 90’s/early 2000’s when Jade Tree and the likes were belting out this kind of stuff by the dozen. All the bases have been covered and a strict agenda has been set. Fast bit, mid paced bit, fast bit, slow break down, stoppy starty bit for guitar jumps etc”¦ Title Fight don’t break the rules however, and as a result, the record remains as nothing more than a musical colouring book. The outline is there, and Title Fight are just filling in the blanks, but it’s got to be done right. As has been said. There are rules. If it actually was a colouring book, and the grass was coloured in purple, and the young boy picking flowers was given green skin, then you’d probably get jeered for being crap at colouring. The same applies. The intro riff has to be easily imaginable to seamlessly replace the soundtrack in a Rocky montage, if the opportunity arose. You don’t have a slow verse and a fast chorus, unless you’re MENTAL! The obligatory heavy metal riff comes to those who wait. Gang shouts are applied by more people than just the members of the band, for some reason. I don’t know why. Title Fight know their role well and connect the dots with grace and aplomb. It’s almost like they are a cover band, or they are publicly reading a book someone else wrote. There is a bewildering and confusing amount of esteem for this type of stuff. The kids “” they love it, yet it’s been a long, long time since a band of this genre has stepped outside of the guidelines and did something different. If they did, it just wouldn’t be melodic hardcore. They’d be decanted from the genre with their possessions in a waste paper box, succumbing to the walk of shame through the office. Title Fight are fully aware of the consequences, conforming to that stadium punk rock sound akin to Strike Anywhere, and even a bit of Grade. Wuss rock, which is no bad thing. The rebellious youth in me just can’t get enough of this formulaic garbage. Slick, fast and fun. It’s also not that corny and wet, but it’s still a little corny and wet. To be enjoyed when the house is empty, so no one can grass on you for not being with the times.