Heart in Hand “Almost There” Album Review
Heart In Hand is an English hardcore band from the south coast of the United Kingdom. Established in 2008 these blokes are allegedly fans of “sex, drugs, and violence” according to their Facebook page. Their Resume includes an impressively long list of tours supporting the following bands: For The Fallen Dreams, Dead Swans, Carpathian, Gallows, TRC, Lower Than Atlantis and It Prevails. “Almost There” is Produced by Pedro Texeira (Bury Tomorrow), and is the highly anticipated follow up to 2010’s “Only Memories” and it’s coming out February 2013! But you can get even sooner if you pre-order it (they ship January 21)!
Charlie Holmes – Vocals
Ollie Wilson – Guitar
Ed Hartwell – Guitar
Carl Martin – Bass
Sam Brennan – Drums
2.04.13
Track List:
1. Proposal
2. Almost There
3. Home/Sick
4. Vows
5. Sleeping Alone
6. Cuts And Bruises (feat. James Leatherbarrow of Death Of An Artist)
7. Maybe (feat. Mikey Chapman/Sam Douglas of Mallory Knox)
8. Old Tattoos
9. Life Goes On
10. Broken Lights (feat. Dani Winter Bates of Bury Tomorrow)
11. Our Atlantic
12. Direction
13. Latter
“Proposal” is a beautiful guitar intro that leads into the track “Almost There”. It starts out with the familiar punk double time pace and the desperate yells of vocalist Charlie Holmes. As the track gets “broken down” the ambient guitar sounds urge us to float in to the air, or do cool things in slow motion. “Home/sick” is much meaner and grittier-it’s sonic mass looms over us menacingly. Catchy guitar etchings provide a pace for us to wobble to and fro, and Holmes’ pain and anguish can be felt throughout our body, thanks to the production techniques. “Vows” Transitions us to a tranquil place for a moment, with symphony strings and reverb guitars that soothe our anger and give us hope for something good.
“Sleeping Alone” brings us right back to the high speed anger and emotionally gripping breakdowns. I’m happy to say it took them to the fourth track to get to a typical breakdown, and they don’t lets us have it to easily as they manage to squeeze and fit every clever device and technique amongst the chuggery. By the end of the song they finally allow us to rock out the way we want. “Cuts and Bruises” experiments with off tempo and other time signatures as it jumps from section to section. The bridge takes the form that of the musical interludes we’ve experienced between tracks and it’s qualities are hypnotic.
“Maybe” Gets right to the point and gets metal real fast. Cool baby metal licks are littered throughout. At 1:15 we hear singing much like Funeral For a Friend and we enjoy it because it hasn’t been used prior. “Old Tattoos” begins with lonely guitar tones that tell its story to listener that is later joined by drums and bass, and evolves to the theme of any narrative our imaginations could possibly supply. Then Holmes joins accompanied by bassy guitar plucks, and we are blinded by his fury. “Life Goes On” Is hardcore as hell and seeks to pump the fuck out of everyone through vocals and lyrics that invite the listener to join in. There is a two step part at 2:30 that is tougher than all of the breakdowns on the album.
“Broken Lights” brings out the prog metal flavor and once the drums bring on the change up-reels us back to hardcore. The chorus spells out our doom with a bittersweet melody that leaves us wondering if we should feel tough or feel intensely about something. “Our Atlantic” begins very much like “Planet Caravan” by Pantera, except with distorted screaming heard from far away. Soon this gentle ballad is interrupted by the sounds of hardcore-and the mosh is not far behind. The Deftones can be heard in this track through the carefully constructed, and subtly complex riffs of guitarists Ollie Wilson and Ed Hartwell.
“Direction” Continues the styles so presented by Heart in Hand, with clever variations, and riffs that hold our attention, and quenches our cravings for unrelenting and punishing rock music. The ending is the best part of the entire album. As we quickly arrive to “Latter” we discover it is a very intensified musical epilogue to this production, and leaves us with more questions than answers. We find ourselves walking into the fog to this ominously pretty music, hoping that the place we find at the other end is what we’ve been searching for. At least thats what I like to think about when I listen to it.
Heart in hand rock like It Prevails, with the intensity of Bring Me The Horizon, while maintaining the size and beauty get as pretty and huge as the Deftones. “Almost There” passionately communicates to the listener through lyrics emotive sounds when they aren’t reducing them to dust through heavy riffs and breakdowns. Whats great about Heart in Hand is that they are not afraid of dynamics, and they are readily equipped with the musical chops to do so. The mellow interludes throughout the album really improve the listening experience, and give it an advantage over other hardcore bands, that don’t turn off the distortion pedal.
Official Music Video for “Life Goes On”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNj7s3T01TA
Order The Album Here:
http://siegeofamida.bigcartel.com/product/heart-in-hand-almost-there-cd-shirt-bundle
Band Links:?OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.heartinhand.bigcartel.com ?TUMBLR – www.heartinhand.tumblr.com
TWITTER – @heartinhand
REVERBNATION – www.reverbnation.com/heartinhand
INSTAGRAM: @heartinhandukmh
MERCHANDISE – www.heartinhand.bigcartel.com
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
Related Posts
Best of 2024: from Ricky Frankel →
PHOTOS: Mac Sabbath Celebrates 10 Years alongside Guttermouth and Angry Samoans →
State Champs Release Self-Titled Album Today →
