Sometimes I wonder just how much could change in only two years
and how the hell it got to be this way
A couple of years ago, I was still an intern at an indie record label in Berlin. I discovered Touché Amoré, La Dispute & Defeater for myself. I fell in love with hardcore and punk again. And I had a girlfriend back then. The summer at the label was great. It was my entry to the music industry that I still work in today. It was the first time that I knew what I was expecting my life to be. I found confirmation in my wish to work with music and with artists. I knew that I was in love with that girl and even though it was complicated to have a long distance relationship, I was trying my hardest to make it work.
Skip forward a few years and I can look back at that time knowing that most of the decisions I’ve made since then have been good ones. And apart from the friends I’ve made in that summer, I also still cherish my rekindled love for hardcore music. When La Dispute started open up their sound to more ‚indie-rock‘ influences, I was kind of disappointed (even though Rooms of the House is a great record). But I’ve learned to let go.
Luckily there are bands like ‚Things Fall Apart‚ who continue the tradition of ‚The Wave‘ bands and play emotional hardcore that is shaking your bones. While one might argue that Frameworks‘ last album was immense, I have to say that lyrically this self titled album by the guys from Columbus is so honest, so emotional and so direct, that it’s close to crushing the listener with its weight. There’s so much loss in here that even William Fitzsimmons would cry while singing these songs.
Sonically the band is mixing hard breakdowns with cracked melodies to beautiful effect. The vocals remind me of early This Day Forward or Poison the Well and I love both of these bands. The record is definitely not for the light-hearted or for your casual summer evening at the lake. But it’s a great exhibit of emotional hardcore that’s looking for inventive melodies. Bloody hell, I love it!
Things Fall Apart is out now via Driftwood Records. Pick up your copy here.
