Try as he might to bring on the nihilism with his wailing, frontman Jeremy Bolm’s vocals are buried under the song’s upward spiral toward a bright and shiny ether, an utterly beguiling struggle for listeners.
The true masterpiece of the band’s musicality, though, is “Skyscraper”, on which Julien Baker acts as a great counter of serenity and optimism against a backdrop of snarling pain. In “Palm Dreams”, the repetition of “On my own” marries beautifully with the rumble of guitars and drums, perfectly establishing the angst and isolation. There is a certain kinetic energy to the chords billowing within “New Halloween”, an energy that’s reminiscent of an early AFI with its mix of raw intensity and unabashed earworm grooves. But as a friend once aptly described, Touché Amoré could sometimes sound like “slam poetry set to hardcore.” With this 12-track LP, take a new step as a unit, though it’s only a small one. The band’s always had a reputation for pushing what’s possible with the intensity and cacophony inherent within hardcore. Now we get our answer with the band’s first album since that interview, Stage Four.įor the members of Touché Amoré, opening up has a few different connotations.
But it also raised the question of what it meant in terms of sonics for the LA-based quintet. In addition to discussing burritos and the art of milking, host Andrew Seward (formerly of Against Me!) commented that the band’s career was really starting to open up, as they had left behind some of the hardcore shitholes of the early years in favor of more expansive venues. That level of growth was inevitable, given the band’s passionate fanbase and hectic tour schedule. A couple years back, Noisey series Sound Off! interviewed the members of Touché Amoré.
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