Review Summary: A beautiful blend of music. Finally, some hardcore with some meaning (That doesn't even involve a break-up! Who'd have thought?)
I love the feeling you get when you listen to an album, forget about it, then rediscover it. Such was the case with
A Girl A Gun A Ghost’s EP, “Save This City”. They had a powerful mix of a yelling singer, southern influenced musicians, and actually decent lyrics. It was a great mix. I found myself eagerly awaiting their full length, and I have to admit, it blew me away.
The albums opening track promises an interesting experience as the singer yells a sole line, slowly getting louder. “So we begin how we will end.” Whether this is a deep profound message of human nature, or just a stupid yell, I frankly don’t care. It got me interested. The band has a distinctive southern hardcore style. There isn’t much emphasis on any of the instruments, but it all comes together beautifully. They alternate between octave heavy choruses or downright southern verses, all having a definate enery. The whole album seems mature. There isn’t any showing off on the instruments, but they show they can write a good song, start to end. The first downside with the album you’ll notice is the production. Everything seems too small. It’s fairly quiet and you have to adjust the volume to get a good experience. But when you listen to their lyrics, they have a somewhat ancient feel to them, from an older time. It seems to suit the band, their lyrics, and the singer’s distinctive voice. This brings me to two great features of this album.
The singer isn’t just a blatant stream of screaming, he has a distinctive style. He yells, but it seems to convey what he says, and it’s emotional. On top of that, he sings meaningful lyrics. And by that, I mean they actually follow some kind of scheme (Better than most metal), have meaning (Better than most metal), are understandable (Better than most metal), and aren’t about breakups (Better than screamo, metalcore, rock, pop-punk, pop, punk, etc…)
“The furnace is cold, the timber rotten and old.
The parasites have found the time to kill something bold.
It’s a lover’s embrace without the lovers,
It’s the thrill of the chase without the hunters!
It’s the satisfaction of the other’s reaction as they’re going under!”
The song writing is great, you can feel the rhythm and the flow, and the songs are distinctive. If this was better produced, it’d be even greater. So just sit back, enjoy, and let this show you what to do on your first full length.
