Review Summary: One of the greatest EP's in recent years, Lost Ground is truly a remarkable piece of work and gives us all the more reason to have our eyes fixed on Defeater
Before I get into this review, I have to admit, Hardcore was never my favorite genre of music. It was never something I gave much of a chance, and after discovering some great music throughout it, I regret not opening up to it before. Defeater have never been a band to follow trends or mimic others, they chose to take a completely unique and different path in their career that sets them far apart from other Hardcore bands. Their debut album Travels showed a huge amount of talent and was extremely well done for a debut album. Introducing the idea of the concept record, they gave us an album with a dark and thought provoking story and the instrumentation behind it was nothing short of magnificent. In 2009, they followed up Travels with an EP known as Lost Ground, which is more or less a branch off from the story of Travels.
On the debut, we were presented with a boy going through difficult and dark times in his life with his family. On his journey, he meets an old African American War Veteran on the streets of New York City, presented in the story as the Prophet in Plain Clothes. The song named after this part in the story was easily one of the best songs they have ever done and was an example of how Defeater do not succumb to doing what everyone else has done but present something new and fresh to the listener, quickly switching from an intense hardcore track into an acoustic bluesy one. On Lost Ground, we find out about this man's past and his story, and Defeater execute this concept just as well as they did with the concept of Travels.
Album opener The Red White and Blues blasts forth with crazed vocals and melodies that present us with the Prophet in Plain Clothes before he enters the War. Drinking at a bar and proclaiming that he is going to “bleed red white and blue”, he is determined to be successful in the War. Vocalist Derek Archambault wanders onto the balance between shouting and screaming the lyrics of the story, and you can feel the emotion in his voice that brings it all together. The entire band come together to not only create a good hardcore album, but a heartfelt one as well. By the time we get to A Wound and Scar, the man has lost his fellow soldiers and mourns over their graves wondering why it had to be them to die instead of himself. The shouting of Derek as he proclaims “just caskets, and folded flags, no hope. Just folded flags. No Hope” is just heartbreaking, and none of this is monotonous or mechanical; you can feel the emotion pouring out of the band at every angle.
Once the EP reaches its second half, we see the man on a downward spiral that ends with him begging in the slums of New York City where the boy from Travels finds him. The latter half of the EP features some of the best songs here, such as Home Ain't Never Home and Beggin' in the Slums. Guitarists Jay Maas and Gus Pesce provide guitar riffs that are not only extremely heavy an melodic, but break into clean melodies that compliment parts of the story perfectly. The bass is also an important part of the EP. Not being heard as much on Travels, here it has a huge tone that crushes along with the guitars and doesn’t hide behind them. Andy Reitz also proves that he is one of the true talents of Defeater, once again providing a flawless performance behind his kit and bringing the sound of Defeater to great heights. His frantic style fits the songs perfectly when Derek sounds like hes on the brink of just breaking completely.
Only being a six song EP, Lost Ground certainly holds its own and is a true highlight in Defeater's career. Giving us a truly remarkable debut album was one thing, but following it up with an EP that is just as good if not better is another thing entirely. This is clearly a band that sets itself apart from everyone else. Being a personal fan of concept albums when they are done correctly and the story is executed perfectly, I love what Defeater do. Lost Ground is easily one of the best EP's in recent years, and its another reason why we should all have our eyes on Defeater for their new full length.
