The Seeking “Yours Forever” Album Review
The Seeking
“Forever Yours”
Razor & Tie – Nov 6, 2012
Post-hardcore newbies The Seeking are nice Christian boys from Sacramento, California soon to rock a town near you. Formed in 2010 while still attending of high school, these youngins began to build quite a reputation from their live show, and soon signed to Razor and Tie. Their Debut Album “Yours Forever” produced by Colby Wedgeworth (Ten After Two, The Maine, This Century, Austin Gibbs), delivers a genre defying masterpiece of rock, pop, and metal.
Taylor Green: Vocals
Dylan Housewright: Guitar/Vocals
Grayson Smith: Guitar
Shane Tiller: Bass
Ben Wood: Drums
Track List:
1.Only a Moment
2. Yours Forever
3. Restless
4.You Won’t Bring Me Down
5. Narrow Lines
6. So Cold
7. Change My Ways
8. Take It From Me
9. How Did You Know?
10. Alone
“Only a Moment” begins with a guitar riff that is seemingly unimpressive, and explodes into a melody that doesn’t feel like anything special as well. However, this music begins to take hold of us as it evolves, finally securing us by the break down. For the rest of the album, The Seeking rock melodic hooks as big as U2 and melt faces with licks as heavy as Killswitch Engage.
The title track, “Yours Forever” hooks us right from the get go, and your head will start to nod back and forth until your fully“banging”. Much like “Reinventing Your Exit” by Underoath, this chorus sticks. This song sports a very playful riff that eventually gets broken down, but not before tricking you first.
“Restless” opens with a very bouncy beat, and some vocals that resemble “mainstream pop”. Before I start to worry, it transitions to the very familiar “post hardcore” dissonant high pitched guitar strums we’ve come to know from bands like Saosin, and we take off into some atmospheric fast paced rock, with falsetto invading our ears.
“You Won’t Bring Me Down” has a melody and vocal style like Raine Maida’s of Our Lady Peace-Lots of Falsetto mixed in with nasal tones to meet an elaborate demand of pitches. In conjunction with the ambient metal guitars, this combination sounds unusual, but is powerful. “You Won’t Bring Me Down” is essentially a traditional rock song, the punk tempo is slowed down to meet the pace of the average listener. Fans of The Academy Is…will love this song.
“Narrow Lines” feels like the typical post hardcore stuff we’re used to, but once we enter the chorus, tambourines and sampled drums usher us into the pop world again. As soon as we arrive, we’re quickly taken down to the ugly metal basement to be yelled at. For the entire production we are pushed from both rooms until we finally meet our end in the basement.
“So Cold” sports more of the same pretty singing part to heavy screaming breakdown part arrangement. There are a lot of dynamic breaks and build ups that end up tying this random heap of a song together. The kids will get plenty of chances to slam dance to this one.
“Change My Ways” is the first ballad song of the album complete with acoustic guitars and token mid-tempo pop structure. Then it is all interrupted by Djent inspired twangs and anger that build to a melodic crescendo, and immediate conclusion.
“Take It From Me” is mosh heavy with haunting melodies. Here the band begins to trade the voices and perspectives between the singers more drastically.
“How Did You Know” Continues the form and structure we’ve become used to on the album. Catchy hooks followed by breakdowns. It is a fairly generic song in comparison to the rest of the album. Its got all the ingredients “a hit” would require, but its just not doing it for me.
“Alone” is my favorite song of the album, and thats very rare considering I usually hate the last tracks on most albums, even my favorite ones. This power ballad packs a wallop, and you’ll be singing along by the very end. I’ve been waking up every day with the chorus stuck in my head, since I first gave it a listen.
The Seeking have convinced me by the third or fourth track, that there is something everyone can appreciate about them. Rarely do I come across a band that I actually enjoy, especially in the “post hardcore” genre. However The Seeking retain an advanced understanding of songwriting , and on top of that, two vocalists with styles and tones that show that this is more than ability, its talent. On “Yours Forever” they make the rounds incorporating all kinds of styles honed within and outside of the genre. In one moment they are filling up the room with beautiful reverb-ed guitar pluckings amidst falsetto glory, and the next are setting it on fire with volatile screams engulfed in abrasive open note chugs. With their chops, their pop sensibilities, and sheer talent, I’ll put my five bucks down that this band gets very big, very fast. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so when they step up in Underoath’s now vacant space in the scene, and take over.
Tour Dates:
Dec 04
Palladium Upstairs w/ Woe, Is Me, Chun…
Worcester, MA
Dec 05
Gramercy Theatre w/ Woe, Is Me, Chun…
New York, NY
Dec 06
First Unitarian Church w/ Woe, Is Me, Chun…
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 07
The Ottobar w/ Woe, Is Me, Chun…
Baltimore, MD
Dec 08
Kingdom w/ Woe, Is Me, Chun…
Richmond, VA
Dec 09
Greene Street Club w/ Woe, Is Me, Chun…
Greensboro, NC
Dec 16
The Venue
Yuma, AZ
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.
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