AB: This should have been upped about 3 weeks ago but life got in the way. Sorry!
KS: Firstly, sorry for the huge gaps between my posts. What with whirlwind GreyScreen tour, releasing tapes, playing in 4 bands (17 sets in 5 weeks!), aging another year, recording the new Stalwart Sons' LP, I've been a busy guy.Life gets in the way of the internet. Good for me, but bad for you who need more jams. Fret not, chums, I'm getting back at it.
Collective memory is a fickle thing. It's curious to go through records and see just what remains spoken of fondly, and which are somehow completely forgotten. When I was a lad, Level Plane Records was king of the post-hardcore world. Literally dozens of my favourite records in my collection are out on Level Plane, (they put out Norts, for goodness' sake!) so for the most part anything on Level Plane is worth at least a cursory listen. I'd have to say that this Life at These Speeds LP is one of the best.
Life at These Speeds have another LP prior to this, one that is much more hard hitting, and a few other splits - which are definitely all worth hearing - but To Your Health is without a doubt the most mature. I'd say if your looking for something a little more hardcore, go earlier. But this final LP does away with much of that, and instead opts for a more subtle approach. Though, don't get me wrong, this record rocks. I talk a lot about my love "breath" in hardcore, the way bands will slow things down, trading in speed and fury for emotional catharsis, and on this release LATS have it in spades. "Heavy Hand" in particular quietly meaners for most of the track before before exploding into emo boombast. Think a more-alterna-400 Years or something like that. Solid.
Collective memory is a fickle thing. It's curious to go through records and see just what remains spoken of fondly, and which are somehow completely forgotten. When I was a lad, Level Plane Records was king of the post-hardcore world. Literally dozens of my favourite records in my collection are out on Level Plane, (they put out Norts, for goodness' sake!) so for the most part anything on Level Plane is worth at least a cursory listen. I'd have to say that this Life at These Speeds LP is one of the best.
Life at These Speeds have another LP prior to this, one that is much more hard hitting, and a few other splits - which are definitely all worth hearing - but To Your Health is without a doubt the most mature. I'd say if your looking for something a little more hardcore, go earlier. But this final LP does away with much of that, and instead opts for a more subtle approach. Though, don't get me wrong, this record rocks. I talk a lot about my love "breath" in hardcore, the way bands will slow things down, trading in speed and fury for emotional catharsis, and on this release LATS have it in spades. "Heavy Hand" in particular quietly meaners for most of the track before before exploding into emo boombast. Think a more-alterna-400 Years or something like that. Solid.
~KS
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