Review Summary: Like Devil Sold His Soul, if Devil Sold His Soul knew how to write interesting music.
10 of 12 thought this review was well writtenIn recent times, Post-Hardcore is becoming a looming, colourless mediocrity. Newcomers to the genre are recycling the same systems and conventions set by better bands prior and wherever you look, the majority looks like it is just becoming par for the course. British quintet Acres, who have recently released their self-titled debut EP, are a promising young band who don't adhere to strict guidelines and banality set by their predecessors. Instead, Acres focus on strong song writing and structure not unlike the winding melodies and ‘ambient’ tendencies usually attributed to Post-Rock bands.
Carried by a strong vocal performance and shimmering guitars, Acres have produced an EP that not only matches the standards of modern day Post-Hardcore, but exceeds them. And yes, this is only the beginning. While the band still have a way to go to fully flesh out their sound and come into their own, they have a great premise for their sound here. They show their capability for creating compositions that start off quiet and serene, and then build before opening into a bang. They play with these ideas and song structures usually in a period of time ranging from three to five minutes.
The vocals are almost heart wrenching endeavours of screaming. Like the vocalist is bleeding himself dry against the canvas, his wails sound genuine and fatiguing. Unfortunately, while the band do get a lot of things right, they play with some heavier dynamics that sound very bass heavy and seem awkward and out of place against the almost monumental wall of twinkle-laced guitars.
In the long run, I believe the band would benefit from experimenting with their Post-Rock capabilities and working on much more grandiose scales, fully developing a song that encases Post-Hardcore, Post-Rock and even their proneness to Ambient so as to create something truly epic. While large ideas are at heart, the band need to step up the context in which they place those ideas.
