Review Summary: Stalwart execution for these metalcore newcomers. Definitely room to improve, but it's hard to find true problems on Indulgence.
It definitely needs to be said that if you’re looking for riff-heavy, shreadtastic *metal*core this is not where you should be searching. Sycamour is full of cleans, and very very digestible. But they do these things with an impressive aptitude and confidence that many of their genre brethren lack.
You can’t talk about this album without first mentioning the cleans. Some of the best cleans in modern metalcore, Jeremy Gilmore's fantastic and flexible range is definitely Sycamour's calling card. He has preference for fairly high-pitched cleans, but he handles them with ease, giving many lines a soulful, soaring quality that avoid sounding too nasally or whiny. Gilmore does a good job of bringing a fantastic degree of melody to his angst. He’s also not afraid of bringing things down a notch, adding a somewhat crooning aspect to many passages. And while he’s Sycamour’s most memorable element, he’s not used as a crutch to hold up weak-ish songwriting that you often find in these situations.
The screams don't bring anything new to the scene, but Sugent's hectic brand of highs and occasional roars don't slouch. He deftly carries listeners through the album's heavier moments, providing a healthy dose of intensity when called upon. The screams trade fairly well with Gilmore’s singing, avoiding the usual archetype of heavy verses clashing with pop-choruses. Though that isn’t to say there aren’t some seriously infectious choruses on display. But, a criticism could be made here that there’s an over-reliance on layers in the screaming production. I found the delivery to do a fair job of giving tracks a frenzied sound, but mileage may vary here.
The drumming is very solid, fitting the shifting tones of many tracks. He doesn't blaze across the kit, but he does a job and does it very well, mixing up his pace and not staying too predictable. The guitar work is nothing I would call overly technical, but there's real creativity on display at points. While they don't do many things out-of-place for the genre, there's a good amount of variety, shifting easily between melody, atmosphere, and energetic jamming. Interesting moments can be found in things such as the rock-inspired sound of “Brakes” and the reverberating leads at the beginning of “Fine Science”. The bass gets a little drowned out during much of the album, but there's a good amount of crunch in the mix.
Synth elements are liberally spread throughout. Backing melodies, synthetic strings, and electronic beats can be found on various tracks, but are used in what I would say is a tasteful manner. Working as an enhancing aspect of the songwriting without trying to sneak a separate EDM track in under your nose. Though if you find having any amount of synth in your metal-omelette grating you might want to look elsewhere. Production is pretty great, squeaky clean, but with the right amount of emphasis where it needs to be. I would maybe like to have a just a little bit more clarity to the guitar melodies on some songs, but I wouldn't criticize too heavily here.
This may not sound like anything particularly special, but the real magic happens in how the band brings all of the elements together. Whether they want you to bang your head, sing along, or marvel at vocal acrobatics, Sycamour pulls listeners' strings with expert dexterity. This is only made more impressive in being a debut LP.
I could see this being a 3.5 or maybe a 3 to many ears, but the songwriting gave me too much of a good time to say it's anything but excellent. You can hear the passion these guys put in their music, and Indulgence should be a fun listen for any fan of this variety of metalcore.
