Review Summary: H2O still relevant in terms of Hardcore, but their music don't evolved since ''Nothing To Prove'' sounding generic in some tracks.....New York Hardcore in crisis?
H2O is one of the bests bands in New York, when we talk about Hardcore and stuff. The influence that they absorbed from Sick Of It All, Madball, Cro-Mags is high on their musics, and that's nice, right? But it seems that Toby Morse and his crew failed enjoying the benefits of growing inside the heart of 90's Hardcore. Since 1995, they released only one record who have a great potential on leaving a legacy in the New York scene, ''Nothing To Prove'' is the high point of the band. I'm not saying that H2O don't have great songs, quite the opposite, ''Thicker Than Water'' and ''Faster Than The World'' have some great and enjoyable tracks. But the point is, a band with more than 20 years of road needs to inovate and be ambicious to leave records that are REALLY important to a style who lost his will to live in the past years.
Talking about the tracks, i'll expose some of my opinions:
1 - ''Black Sheep'': Here's a classic example of recycled music. When you compare this track with all the others tracks in ''Nothing To Prove'', it's clear to see the lack of creativity and inovation. But still enjoyable at least.
2.5/5
2 - ''Skate!'': I follow Toby Morse in social media, the vocalist of H2O, and his crew made a lot of advertising with this music, lauching a video before the releasing of the record. But why such a work with a weak song who is quite irrelevant and generic? And it's clear that this song is the best into ''Use Your Voice''.
3/5
3 - ''Thick And Thin'': A band who carry the PMA certanly will release a track like that. I don't have words to describe this song....maybe one: weak.
2/5
4 - ''Use Your Voice'': Carrying the name of the record, ''Use Your Voice'' is a fine song and nothing more.
2.5/5
5 - ''Father Figure'': When we read the title of the tracks in this album, we see that Toby Morse is trying to say that he is a proud and dedicated dad, but that kind of dialogue is really necessary? The influence of his life in their music shows us a musician who slept in time and lives in a comfort zone. And the result is..........another crappy track.
1.5/5
6 - ''From the Heart'': I have listened this before........maybe in ''Nothing To Prove''?
2/5
7 - ''Popage'': This track sounds like ''Black Sheep'', but with a poor chorus that don't evolve. Seriously, i'm really disappointed.
2/5
8 - ''LYD'': The faster music in the record. Sounds like ''Fairweather Friend'', which in my opinion is the best song of the band. So...yeah, the band finally show some progress in one song in a record with 10 more.
3.5/5
9 - ''Still Dreaming'': ''From the Heart'' with a different title. In a album with so much songs that seems equal, what is the need to lauch a full length?
2/5
10 - ''#NotRealLife'': Tracks like that exposes that the band loses their identify and originality. After listening this i am really thinking that calling H2O a Hardcore band is not the right answer.
1.5/5
11 - ''True Romance'': The first riff in the song is really catching......but after que same type of song begins and with him a really crappy chorus..... Really, Toby Morse?
2/5
''Use Your Voice'' is a bad example of how you gonna enjoy 4 years of work creating tracks in a studio. And i really hope to see a mature song coming of the prodigy band in the Hardcore scene of New York. But in the same way, it doesn't suprises me to listen a record like that fails in the basics of inovation. If you have 22 minutes, just listen to this and take your own conclusions. If the shock with this record were too high, take a look on the early records of Sick Off It All to heal the pain in your ears.
