Touché Amore - Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me (20/05/2011)
In just a few short years, Los Angeles natives Touché Amore have taken the world by storm. After releasing their demo CD in 2008, the band have brought out splits with bands such as La Dispute and Make Do And Mend, leaving much anticipation for their second full length on Deathwish Inc.
Their debut album ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse, released in 2009, was incredibly well received by critics and hardcore fans alike. Featuring guest vocals from Thursday’s Geoff Rickly and Modern Life Is War's Jeffrey Eaton, this album firmly established Touché as one of the best bands in the hardcore scene, a reputation they have upheld by constant touring around the world and intensely passionate live shows. Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me is not only a follow up album, but a continuation of their sound as well by developing in a more melodic direction, without losing any of their intensity from their previous album.
Touché Amore are part of The Wave, a self-proclaimed new wave of post-hardcore scene started by La Dispute, that is also home to bands such as Defeater, Pianos Become The Teeth and Make Do And Mend. Although the bands differ in sound and style, they share a love of post-hardcore, and the DIY ethic that many bands have lost these days. Touché play a style of hardcore that is just as influenced by screamo bands such as Pg. 99 and Orchid as it is by hardcore bands such as American Nightmare.
Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me is short, intense, and emotional. Not letting up for almost the entire album, until the piano driven Condolences, this album is honestly, fucking brilliant. Jeremy Bolm’s vocals are a lot raspier than most in the hardcore scene, but I find they suit the music. It’s an album that you have to listen to a few times to let it sink in, because at just over twenty minutes, you don’t have time to really appreciate and absorb it the first time.
Even though the band aren’t as raw as they were on their demo CD and their split with Make Do And Mend, they are just as intense, and I find the better production benefits their music. This album was recorded live to give the music a more honest feel, something that worked well for At The Drive-In on their album In/Casino/Out, another band who struggled to capture the intensity of their live show on their albums.
Whilst vocalist Jeremy Bolm has always written personal lyrics, on this album he sounds truly vulnerable. Method Act is the perfect example of this, with lyrics such as “I got these issues that you can’t subscribe, and I’m scared to talk to anyone for what they might prescribe.” The lyrics this time around, especially on Method Act, are so relatable, and it’s probably the best song on the album. Touché Amore have always had amazing lyrics, and this album is a step up from the last album, sounding more honest and vulnerable than ever before.
Lyrically, the rest of the album revolves around insecurities, family, friends and the wanderlust that many musicians experience, wanting to constantly tour and travel instead of settling down. Home Away From Here, one of the singles released before the album came out, deals with this feeling of wanderlust and the dissatisfaction of settling down and having a mundane life, in easily one of the best songs on the album. The video for this song is just amazing, and you should go and watch it the second you finish this review.
The album as a whole is just incredible. Touché Amore took the formula that worked for them on their last album, and made it more intense and more melodic. A few of the tracks were not as memorable as others, but there were no bad tracks on this album, and the better tracks are some of the best tracks they’ve written in their entire career.
Touché Amore are finally making their way to Australia in September, bringing along pop punk/melodic hardcore band Title Fight. I advise everyone who has an interest in hardcore and post-hardcore to go along and check them out. After both La Dispute and Defeater have made their way to our shores this year, and with Make Do And Mend touring nationally with Soundwave Revolution, it seems that this year will have most of The Wave touring, so go support post-hardcore and see them live.
Josh Mitrou
Their debut album ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse, released in 2009, was incredibly well received by critics and hardcore fans alike. Featuring guest vocals from Thursday’s Geoff Rickly and Modern Life Is War's Jeffrey Eaton, this album firmly established Touché as one of the best bands in the hardcore scene, a reputation they have upheld by constant touring around the world and intensely passionate live shows. Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me is not only a follow up album, but a continuation of their sound as well by developing in a more melodic direction, without losing any of their intensity from their previous album.
Touché Amore are part of The Wave, a self-proclaimed new wave of post-hardcore scene started by La Dispute, that is also home to bands such as Defeater, Pianos Become The Teeth and Make Do And Mend. Although the bands differ in sound and style, they share a love of post-hardcore, and the DIY ethic that many bands have lost these days. Touché play a style of hardcore that is just as influenced by screamo bands such as Pg. 99 and Orchid as it is by hardcore bands such as American Nightmare.
Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me is short, intense, and emotional. Not letting up for almost the entire album, until the piano driven Condolences, this album is honestly, fucking brilliant. Jeremy Bolm’s vocals are a lot raspier than most in the hardcore scene, but I find they suit the music. It’s an album that you have to listen to a few times to let it sink in, because at just over twenty minutes, you don’t have time to really appreciate and absorb it the first time.
Even though the band aren’t as raw as they were on their demo CD and their split with Make Do And Mend, they are just as intense, and I find the better production benefits their music. This album was recorded live to give the music a more honest feel, something that worked well for At The Drive-In on their album In/Casino/Out, another band who struggled to capture the intensity of their live show on their albums.
Whilst vocalist Jeremy Bolm has always written personal lyrics, on this album he sounds truly vulnerable. Method Act is the perfect example of this, with lyrics such as “I got these issues that you can’t subscribe, and I’m scared to talk to anyone for what they might prescribe.” The lyrics this time around, especially on Method Act, are so relatable, and it’s probably the best song on the album. Touché Amore have always had amazing lyrics, and this album is a step up from the last album, sounding more honest and vulnerable than ever before.
Lyrically, the rest of the album revolves around insecurities, family, friends and the wanderlust that many musicians experience, wanting to constantly tour and travel instead of settling down. Home Away From Here, one of the singles released before the album came out, deals with this feeling of wanderlust and the dissatisfaction of settling down and having a mundane life, in easily one of the best songs on the album. The video for this song is just amazing, and you should go and watch it the second you finish this review.
The album as a whole is just incredible. Touché Amore took the formula that worked for them on their last album, and made it more intense and more melodic. A few of the tracks were not as memorable as others, but there were no bad tracks on this album, and the better tracks are some of the best tracks they’ve written in their entire career.
Touché Amore are finally making their way to Australia in September, bringing along pop punk/melodic hardcore band Title Fight. I advise everyone who has an interest in hardcore and post-hardcore to go along and check them out. After both La Dispute and Defeater have made their way to our shores this year, and with Make Do And Mend touring nationally with Soundwave Revolution, it seems that this year will have most of The Wave touring, so go support post-hardcore and see them live.
Josh Mitrou