Review Summary: ROMEO ROMEO WHERE ART THOU ROMEO
So Hideous, My Love emerged onto the scene as some kind of ambiguous art project that fused screamo with black metal, shoegaze and classical. The first EP from crew of melancholy poets was entitled "I Balance a Daydream on the Edge of a Knife" and although failing to live up to the premise of this ambitious melting pot of genres it was still pretty good. There wasn't much black metal or shoegaze anywhere to be found nor was the classical element fully realized unless you count the lone violin inclusion as "the determining" classical influence. Regardless of what is and what isn't, the EP showed a talented group with the potential to become a major force in modern heavy music. The music was passionate, the vocals were torturous and the songwriting was as diverse as it was confident in it's baroque approach. And in 2011 the band returned to drop another EP upon our heads. Entitled "To Clasp A Fallen Wish With Broken Fingers" it's safe to say that So Hideous, My love is just as melodramatic today as they were a year ago.
The EP opens with "Handprints With Glass" which features a stunningly gorgeous introduction of melodic chords and a mournful orchestral sequence. Vocals soon enter and usher in the same grim tone of despair and desperation as seen in last years EP. The song dynamics flare up between soft and loud, low and fast with relative ease as the song closes out on in a hostile manner. You are then greeted with the purely instrumental piece "Prelude in G# Minor" which finds the band showcasing their classical element. It's very dramatic as the orchestration soars to Greek tragedian heights. The particular type of atmosphere and music So Hideous, My Love play could easily be considered pompous and contrived yet they are not. The emotion, the mood and the theatrical instrumentation is authentic to the ears and heart. So Hideous, My Love manage to tug with your heart and mind, metaphorically placing you in some kind of tragic play resulting in the unnerving death or betrayal of someone close to you. "However Boldly Their Warm Blood Split" follows suit to Prelude, incorporating elements of the the two prior tracks in an epic amalgamation of classical, post-rock and screamo. A furious opening evolves into a scaled back instrumental, fully embracing it's bombastic dynamism before closing out in a slower paced musical onslaught. The last song, "To Clasp A Fallen Wish Broken Fingers" is the crown jewel of the E.P. Following their established formula So Hideous, My Love create a savage, emotionally jarring mini epic that builds up to an awe-worthy crescendo of throaty screams, turbulent percussion and harrowing guitars signifying the end of the adventurous E.P.
So Hideous, My Love is a band that will appeal to a lot of people while simultaneously gathering ire from the opposite spectrum for being so eccentric. All in all, So Hideous, My Love is a breath of fresh air to the modern scene, not only for just encompassing a theatrical approach to their aggressive brand of music but for being such good songwriters. This is an approach that could have easily sucked coming from lesser musicians but alas So Hideous, My Love have risen again to deliver another set of hard rocking jams.
