Review Summary: Parting that sea has taken some time, but it seems they've found what makes them one worth mentioning.
There is a moment in the track ‘The Great Repetition’ in which vocalist Jeremy Bolm shouts, “This is my final act/ So may I have your full attention/ And for my final trick/ I’ll make everyone who loves me disappear/ But I won’t know how to bring them back”. As the tempo slows down and the soft chords begin, you can sense the emotion brought forth by both the music and voice of Bolm. It’s that moment, that level of emotion that proved to me that Touche Amore has about as much heart as they do energy, and that’s exactly what is received in
Parting the Sea Between Brightness And Me.
Separating themselves from the hardcore assembly line, Touche Amore veers away from friendship chants and tough guy one liners to present the listener with a softer, yet more chaotic hardcore experience found only if you dig deeper into the underground scene. Keeping things short and to the point,
Parting the Sea features thirteen tracks, yet not one spanning over two and a half minutes keeping the length of the album to a short stop of just over 20 minutes. This works in the bands favor though, as the group gets what they need and want in their tracks without sweating over adding breakdowns or extra unnecessary material just to expand the length of their tracks.
Lyricism is key here, and whether or not the band is crafting a song based on pure energy and franticness, they still have the ability to convey truth through their lyrics. It’s tracks like ‘Pathfinder’ and ‘Wants/Needs’ that bring forth that chaotic sound that simply doesn’t let up. Whether you’re tapping your feet and fingers to the beat or bobbing your head back and forth without worrying about the all over rhythm, a majority of the album relies on that level of energy to keep you wondering how much they can actually bring forth in the following tracks. Having that ability to know when to be chaotic and when to be a little more heartfelt works so well here, as they can break away from that energy right into a track such as ‘Condolences’. The soft and simple piano rhythm sets a little more somber mood as Bolm shouts not so easy to forget lyrical lines in the background presenting what is one of the best softer tracks on the album.
It’s that change in sound while keeping the same style that shows how much talent this group actually has, as none of the songs feel out of place or random for sake of just having it there. Maybe this album is just me realizing what I’ve come to enjoy so much in my musical taste or me going through a very nice phase, I’ve found myself utterly attached to
Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me. One of the more real and heart based hardcore albums I’ve ever heard, it took some time to find but it’s that real lyricism and frantic sound that continues to pull me in, and wish I could attack myself personally to more bands such as I have done with this.
