Wear Your Wounds
WYW
---originally published on Lambgoat---
Given that you are browsing a metal and hardcore themed
website, you most likely know who Jacob Bannon is. As founding member and vocalist of the highly
influential hardcore band Converge, owner of the Deathwish, Inc. record label, and
designer of countless album covers, band posters and t-shirts, his imprint can
be seen in every capacity across the entire genre. Whether he is releasing records by legendary
groups like 108 and Starkweather or collaborating with Dwid Hellion of
Integrity, it’s clear the respect Bannon’s work has garnered within the music community.
So it comes as no surprise that his latest project, Wear
Your Wounds boasts a lineup that features such names as Kurt Ballou of
Converge, Sean Martin of Hatebreed, Mike McKenzie of The Red Chord and Chris
Maggio, who has done time with the likes of Coliseum and Trap Them. Conceived by Bannon over the course of a
number of years and reimagined with this group of collaborators, the debut
full- length of the project veers away from the heavy pedigree of those
involved. Instead, WYW strays toward the mellower side, closer to the atmospheric and
minimalist approach of Bannon’s experiments with Supermachiner and Irons, but
with more of a focus on songs than ambiance.
Utilizing characteristics of such groups as Explosions In
The Sky and Codeine, each of the songs on WYW
follow a general formula of building around a repeated piano line, increasing
in volume and intensity as more instrumentation is added. The songs themselves aren’t particularly
structured into any unique sections; rather they are long crescendos, never
quite deviating from their original base.
This is a formula that would be rather tiresome if not for the
versatility of the musicians involved.
Opener “Wear Your Wounds” is a heavy, post-metal crawl
bringing to mind the more melodic side of Neurosis while it’s follow-up,
“Giving Up” plods along a bouncing piano riff before a rush of percussion and
effect laden-guitars swoop in, bringing the song to its noisy conclusion. Tracks like “Hard Road To Heaven” and “Shine”
stay simpler and mellower, the latter delving into an acoustic guitar and
tambourine driven finish. The ability of
the band to jump between the quiet and the loud with such fluidity is their
strong point. This is perhaps best
displayed in the noisy second half of “Iron Rose” with its chaotic drumming and
wailing lead guitars complementing the quiet lull of it’s opening section.
It is the moments that the group hangs back that the album
falters. “Fog” stumbles through a clunky
opening section before being saved by a rush of lead guitar and crashing
cymbals. Likewise closer “Goodbye Old
Friend” meanders through an uninspired first half before it’s synth and
acoustic guitar accompaniment take over.
It’s the creative nature and the flexibility of the players that is able
to make these songs work in the end.
Bannon’s clean sung vocals, however, leave much to be
desired. Known primarily for his unique style of indecipherable screaming – fit
for the noisy chaos of Converge – the vocalist strays outside of his comfort
zone on Wear Your Wounds. Off key and
lacking intriguing melodies or tonality, they tend to weigh the songs down. Bannon’s voice is often times heavily
distorted or buried deep in the mix, leaving a feeling that this material would
have been better served as instrumentals.
The vocals bog down the otherwise engaging post-rock build up of “Best
Cry Of Your Life” and distract you from the beautiful hushed arrangements of
“Iron Rose”. The fragility of the music just
begs for something more.
Vocal shortcomings aside, the album is an intriguing collection of songs. But that is exactly what it is: a collection
of songs. Amongst it’s unsteadiness, WYW is never able to find the cohesive
flow of a proper album.
Bottomline: WYW is
an admirable effort from Bannon and company that falls just short of it’s
potential. There’s plenty here to enjoy,
but not without roughing it through the rest.
Wear Your Wounds - Wear Your Wounds - WYW
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