I fell in love with these Canadians back in July and I am honored to share this amazing news regarding their new dark hardcore, unpredictable self-titled record! The black-and-white-horse has been unleashed! Thank you guys for putting together such an amazing piece of art. More thanks go to I.Currupt Records, L’Oeil du tigre, Zegema Beach Records, Don’t Live Like Me Records, Good Post Day Records, Aorte and L’Orchidoclaste for distributing it! Be sure to play the whole thing and tell your friends it’s up!
After Solids and Animal Faces another great band from Canada on ICR! On their first full-length album BLACK LOVE from Montreal are managing to combine emotional post-hardcore/screamo tunes with atmospheric, almost shoegaze-like guitar works. BLACK LOVE’s sound is outstanding and really hard to describe. But fans of Pianos Become The Teeth, Yage and Locktender will get it and love this album!
Catch them live at:
Sep 26 – The Green Door Store – Brighton, UK
Oct 17 – Soybomb Hq – Toronto, ON
Read a review posted on DIYconspiracy.net:
This LP starts out very melodic, with much post-rock influence sticking out for the remainder of the album. Typically, I’m not super attracted to these styles but I really dig what Black Love was doing here. The drum fills in between the guitar-driven soundscapes were beautiful. The chord progressions and riffs really stick out. Especially so on the track “Becker’s Leitmotif” which is my favorite to listen to. That first minute is really beautiful. The whole release is, to be honest. The same goes for the the final track on the record “La Fois Que Le Spot Est Passé Au Feu”. The beginning is powerful, the build up is immense. The rest of the song is able to carry that build up too.
The second half of the album plays a lot better than the first in my opinion. I’m not sure if that was intentional, how it flowed more than the first. I really feel like the majority of these songs would be great to see live. I feel that is where bands are really able to sink or swim when it comes to really atmospheric post-hardcore. Regardless, this was a great listen from start to finish. It has it’s parts that you just have to really pay attention to just as much as there are parts that make you bob your head and air drum.
What’s really interesting is that the band features a 3rd guitarist, which isn’t typical in a regular post-hardcore instrument kit. It seems completely necessary though to really play these songs live. There is just so much happening with guitar but it’s so well organized, something that isn’t done as well as these guys were able to pull off all of the time. Hopefully the band plans on touring the states soon because I would love to catch them.
If you’re into really atmospheric and dark post-hardcore names like Locktender, Men As Trees, or even The Sky Above And The Earth Below; this may be right up your alley. For those of you who are into trying something new, or needing a different take on hardcore music, I recommend giving this a shot. It’s well deserved. / DIYconspiracy.net
