Every band should deserve some sort of creative freedom. Every band should be granted the possibility of moving their sound in a different direction. Music is art nevertheless. And it’s an expression of artistic freedom to change the sound. ‚Hyperview‘ should not come as a surprise to any fan of Title Fight. But if this is the direction the band is going, then I must admit that it’s not a direction that I will follow.
I must admit, I’m a big fan of the band for quite some time. I really loved the energy of ‚Shed‚. It brought back memories of my youth, of the bands I was listening to back then and of the summer nights getting drunk at some mates‘ parents house. The rough voice, the short songs, the melodies and all. It was a blast in less than 28 minutes. At almost 33 minutes, ‚Floral Green‚ clocked in 5 minutes later. But I also cherished that album. The production was a tad bigger, the guitars louder, the drums thicker but the voices stayed rough like sandpaper. Yes, there was ‚Head in The Ceiling Fan‚ but the rest was still kicking ass, you know.
So let’s turn our attention to the third album ‚Hyperview‘ then. I’ve been looking really hard for a word that describes what I felt when I listened to it a couple of times, and my conclusion is: disappointing. It’s far off what the band so far has released. It’s not about taking one step away from their old sound, but leaping a mile and a half away. The whole shoegaze aesthetic makes one wonder if the band spent their last year sitting in an Amsterdam coffee shop. The songs are bland, echoing somewhere in the background. The vocals are buried in a gooey paste of mid-tempo drums, subtle bass and cleanish guitars. It’s all just too lethargic.
Let’s face the facts. ‚Hyperview‘ is an artistic development of a punk band. Yes, it adds a different dimention to a band that we were used to hopping along and shouting along to. Despite the album being 3 minutes shorter than its predecessor, it either feels an awefully long half an hour, or you don’t even realize what played in the background. I feel truly sorry for a band that I liked a lot, but I have to jump off at this exit. It’s not my cup of tea. And even if it was, I would still expect more energy from this band. ‚Hyperview‘ is like a comet slowly dissolving in earths‘ atmosphere. Sad but true.
‚Hyperview‘ by Title Fight is out now via Anti.
