Review Summary: "I looked at you, and everything inside me echoed..."
Hindsights released their first record, an EP, in 2013: 'The Thoughts That Weigh Me Down.' Receiving very good reviews but mostly unrecognized by pop-culture, this EP was quite possibly the best of the genre that year. One of the few issues I cited in that album was its adamance to appeal to pop-culture -- they did this by composing generic hooks and simple ballad lyrics. This might shoot a band into mainstream acceptance, but they will, perhaps, be aware that they could've done much better. Appeal is a very important part of music; the scene which enjoys your music may define it. Some artists, however, feel this pressure all too audibly. Hindsights, regrettably, only furthered this concept in their much-anticipated full-length LP, 'Cold Walls / Cloudy Eyes.'
With a hazy, distorted atmosphere, the music seems to plod on, pop track after pop track, boring me quite near the morbid depression of the lyricist. At the time I heard the opening track, "Everything Inside Me Echoed" (which, incidentally, is the most memorable track on the LP), I recognized the lack of passion and emotion that was extremely present on the album's predecessor. Also, the song repeats itself to the point of utter ennui. "Cold Walls" displays this same concept, bearing more derivative qualities, such as the repeated riffs and uncaptivating vocal melodies. As one could hear after only two songs, Hindsights are no longer a punk group. The urge to make popular the underground tunes of the UK carried on two years later, causing high amounts of disappointment for me.
'Cold Walls / Cloudy Eyes', like its precursor, seem to revolve around the depressional agony of the band. This idea, however, appears much more hazy on this LP. Also, it bleeds into the actual musical content. Unlike this, song "Fluoxetine" on the EP sounds rather upbeat; the only depressing realm of those songs are the lyrics (making for a very refreshing sound), which were much more autumnal on 'The Thoughts That Weigh Me Down.' For example, song “See You Soon” has rather sad lyrics, but the song acquires this same emotion, making it rather boring -- the depression of the track affects the music. The same drum beat used on this track is used on most of the other tracks -- every song sounds quite the same. Some of the few tracks that actually induced enjoyment on my part were “Out of My Skull” and “Colour Blind”, which, unfortunately, also sound the same as each other.
This LP, though it doesn’t really have any purely enjoyable or catchy songs, grew to be much more mature than ‘TTTWMD.’ The musicians sound as if they have been practicing to perfection; there was clearly a lot of effort put into ‘Cold Walls / Cloudy Eyes’ as far as musical skill goes. The singers’ voices sound much more distinct and developed, mostly audible on “Out of My Skull” and closing track “Sore.”
Listening to this album, I feel as if it is my job to do so. I feel no compulsions to listen to it for pleasure. Hindsights, their “eyes clouded” by their pressure to have an audience have fell short of my absolute acceptance because they are now composing repetitive, unoriginal songs. In summation, the thought of Hindsights continuing to be this radio-friendly boy-band weighed me down. 2.5/5
