EPIC {{arts & entertainment}}

So if you’re looking for any good music next week (say, oh, Tuesdayish) I’m going to have to recommend that the LOVEHATEHERO album be among those you consider purchasing. AMERICA UNDERWATER boasts a big, clean sound of anthemic proportions and some of the most developed vocal melodies I’ve heard in the past few years. Don’t let that throw you off, though. LOVEHATEHERO has not completely forgone a heavier sound— there’s a peppering of thrashing and a smattering of throat on AMERICA UNDERWATER as well.

The melodic and almost dainty opening of Saints and Sinners— the first track of the album— is a bit of a throw off. Unexpected and skeptical as those first few seconds were (don’t get me wrong, it was good but not what I had imagined as an intro), it was followed with mildly thrashing guitars and a strong pop punch that takes the listener straight into the song. As much as I must commend the song writing, the lyrics are also deep enough to take note while not flowery, forced or false and the listener is hit with the truth of, “there’s no such thing / as a saint without a history / or a sinner without a future.” Take it to the bridge and a sudden onslaught attack of guitars shredding does not eave the song unexciting or too perfectly produced to be palpable.

What strikes while listening to the first four or five tracks of the album, is that while the songs are clean cut and perfectly mixed, the longest lasting impression is how big and full the sound is. LOVEHATEHERO has skillfully crafted a very full, multilayered sound, with each bit weaving intricately yet in such a way as to be complimentary with other melodies overlaying it. My advice: AMERICA UNDERWATER is an album to be sat back and soaked in, sound for sound and melody for melody to fully experience and appreciate the craftsman ship of the songs. At times it was hard to focus on lyrics, though the vocals are powerful and provoking, the words themselves at times seem less important than the sounds. A second go ‘round with the lyrics and there’s nothing disappointing— they, too, lend to the overall power. In You’ll Never Know, Pierrick strongly asserts, “I’m inadequate,” which fortunately, the song is not. There’s an honest and no-bullshit approach to the lyrics as seen in the slightly rougher Think Twice, “it’s easy / I miss you.”

As complimentary and compelling as the opening of AMERICA UNDERWATER is, there was a moment where I feared that redundancy might set in. As big of a fan as I am to the full sound and the polished pieces— the hooks are polished and catchy and jesus, the bankd wasn’t kidding when they said they wrong “complete songs”— there needed to be something a little bit different to keep the pace of the album going and enjoy the listening. Enter Echoes, the heavier anthem taking a break from the previously clean sound that somehow still manages to be slightly polished. The chugging guitars and bass kick off after a brief introduction. Though heavier, it still maintains that stuck in your head quality the other songs also share.

LOVEHATEHERO, though taking risks with this new sound, does fall short a few time. Out of the ten tracks the least interesting falls somewhere around Come and Get It. The heavier hit of the song is still not nearly as complex or interesting as it leaves the listener wanting it to be and though it breaks up the rock ballad nature of the song with it’s attacking breaks they are not quite fierce enough to make it hit home.

Though working with pop producers with a love for rock music, it does overall improve LOVEHATEHERO’s sound but Procession of Regression proves that that is not always a wonderful thing. There is what I can only describe as some weird choral shit going on in the background and though this in and of itself doesn’t fully take away from the song, when it is noticed it is distracting and slightly out of place. To me, it was completely out of left field, but layered so completely in the big sound the band has accomplished, that it is almost confusing. Subtracting that element would help substantially— sorry LOVEHATEHERO, just because you’re going for an anthemic album doesn’t mean you should try quite so hard. Your effort was showing and it made it way less enjoyable. On the plus side, Procession of Regression does boast some nice effects and some powerful breaks. I just really wanted to delete that choral shit from existence.

So what’s the track that’s going to have you dancing? Pants off Dance Off. Hands down. This song speaks for itself. And doesn’t the title come from like that show that happened for a hot second once upon a time ago? If not, it’s still pretty reminiscent. Pants could definitely be taken off. Or if not, little girls might get some training bras off.

If the beginning of AMERICA UNDERWATER is a delicate yet strong threading, the ending is the unexpected uppercut. The complexity of the craftsmanship increases leaving the listener to soak in the layering, more compelling guitars and strong backing vocals. Overall, LOVEHATEHERO bat as close to a homerun as a band can possibly get having recrafted their sound so completely in the process of finding themselves. With definitive radio friendly hits, it leaves me wondering what ones might be making their ways to possible top 40 radio with a little bit of luck and help. A number of the tracks have more mainstream potential.