Review Summary: An awkward mix of pop and post-hardcore that boasts plenty of style but carries no substance.
The Fall of Troy seems to be suffering from a mid-life crisis as of late. They started with a string of stellar releases, but that was put to a screeching halt by the questionable quality of their third album
Manipulator, which featured more poppy elements, less screaming and an overall lack of energy. They picked up the slack by releasing
Phantom on the Horizon, which was an overall solid and enjoyable effort. Would Fall of Troy continue down the path of creative progressions, high-energy structures and guitar virtuoso that was found on
Phantom on the Horizon and their earlier releases, or will they go back to the style found on
Manipulator?
The Fall of Troy’s fourth album,
In The Unlikely Event, is a quirky release that is largely unpleasant thanks to it’s conflicting mix of pop and post-hardcore. The biggest problem with this album is that it suffers from a troubling case of identity crisis: It seems that the band is still persistent on ruining their style by adding unnecessary pop elements to it, which absolutely does not fit in with their signature style. To me, the mix of these elements is the sonic equivalent of putting ketchup on chocolate cake, and I easily get nauseated long before the album comes to a close.
Underneath the surface of
In The Unlikely Event is the band doing what it does best: playing unusual and progressive structures at various speeds while the lead guitar frantically churns out melodies. There are several snippets of enjoyable moments to be found on this album, but what they chose to do on
Manipulator and continue to do here, unfortunately, is coat this enthusiasm and creativity with uninspired progressions, awkward pop choruses and, probably most unappealing of all, Thomas Erak’s sub-par singing ability.
I feel that this album only has two true standouts, and oddly enough, they are the two songs that are on both ends of the style spectrum. “Straight-Jacket Keelhauled” is the only taste of classic Fall of Troy that you’ll get on this album, as it is full of energy and features maniacal screeching, interesting guitar lines and unique, demented progressions. “Webs” is a poppy-bluesy song that is tasteful and well done, proving that Fall of Troy can write a decent pop song. This album would have been great if they decided to go with strictly pop or post-hardcore styles, but there in lies the tragedy: they instead decided to mix these styles together and end up with a conflicting and horrendous Frankenstein creation.
Lastly, the one thing that is sure to irk a lot of people is Thomas Erak’s tone-deaf singing, which awkwardly walks the fine line between being not harmonious enough for pop and not edgy enough for post-hardcore. His voice is too flimsy to be singing over heavy parts, and it is much too grating to be singing over softer parts. And since this album features 90% singing, it proves to be a consistent sour element that completely dampens the listening experience.
So who exactly is this album for? It certainly isn’t catchy and poppy enough for pop fans, and it certainly isn’t heavy and innovative enough for post-hardcore fans. In trying to combine two styles that they enjoy, Fall of Troy has turned
In The Unlikely Event into an eccentric, distasteful mess that will surely upset more people than it pleases.
