Review Summary: Let Go is a bronze medal record from a band capable of winning the gold.
Let Go is the perfect example of how sometimes, a record that offers nothing groundbreaking, nothing extraordinary, and very little new to the table, can still be a pretty great record.
As a sophomore album, Let Go shows some progression in that Hundredth feel a little more genuine here. There is more urgency in vocalist Chadwick Johnson's bark, more uplifting leads and choruses provided by guitarist/clean vocalist Alex Blackwell, and a more cohesive rhythm section. The improvement in production quality on Let Go as opposed to the band's 2010 debut, "When Will We Surrender", stands out as well.
There is actually not much to dislike about Let Go as a melodic hardcore record. The vocal melodies are catchy (see Remain and Sustain, the singing at the end of Monumental Part I), the breakdowns are always strategically placed (see Carry On), the drums are fast paced and on par (see Humane), the bass is audible throughout and keeps up with the guitars quite nicely.
But Hundredth don't take enough risks on this album, and where they do, they are short lived. The best example of this is the clean break two minutes and six seconds into We Can Take Them All. It is literally three seconds long, but it is a beautiful three seconds and shows that maybe Hundredth are a bit more creative than they lead on to be.
The other obvious example of Hundredth's short lived, yet risky and brilliant pieces on Let Go is the last two minutes or so of Restless. Cody Bonnette of As Cities Burn lends his vocals over a clean chord progression gently being strummed, that slowly builds into the what becomes the best minute of music on the record.
Little flashes of brilliance can also be found in the subtle lead guitar work in the beginning of Carry On and throughout I Hold the Key, the gang vocals at the end of Monumental Part I, the desperate intro to Restless, and the drums in the intro to Live Today. But, these moments are so short lived and subtle that they are all too easy to miss, sometimes becoming most noticeable just as they end, and because these moments are few and far between on Let Go, there is not much here to distinguish Hundredth from their contemporaries in bands like Counterparts or Comeback Kid.
Let Go is a great, yet safe, record from a band that has the ability to do so much more.
