Review Summary: Be yr idols.
When you’re involved in multiple projects, it’s going to be nearly impossible to make an album without comparisons to everything else you’re involved in. And that stigma is simultaneously completely fair and wildly unfair. It’s fair because, you’re creating something in two different spheres, and so you’re influence is going to draw upon what you’ve created in the past, but it’s unfair because you’re creating this under a new name to escape the pressure of living up to your other reputation. To this point, Beau Navire have done well to avoid any comparisons to their previous/current projects, I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism in Your Yearbook and Loma Prieta. Still, the band seems to be the perfect merging of the previous groups styles. I Wrote Haikus… brought a dreamlike element to screamo while still maintaining its hardcore roots, while Loma Prieta has earned its reputation as screamo’s flagship metallic outfit.
On
Life Moves, Beau Navire opted to embrace its dreamlike, disjointed side to wonderful effects, releasing “Fitting Pieces” which is one of the most perfect songs released in recent memories.
Hours tightened the sound without completely doing away with the dreamy elements, as exemplified on “Cloud City”, but
Lumens finds the band moving further away still towards a more cohesive, metallic sound. Songs are faster, shorter, and more intense than on previous releases, but the band still finds moments to fit in lucid riffs and breaks. Tracks seamlessly transition from beautifully lofty guitar lines to grinding break neck speeds, but are ultimately held together by vocalist, Trei’s frantic shrieks. Each syllable is perfectly placed and each indecipherable word is passionately felt.
Despite the fact that they’ve now written/released over 30 tracks in the past 12 months, under the Beau Navire moniker alone, the songs are still incredibly fresh and brimming with ideas and passion. Given the typical scream band’s shelf life, there’s no telling how long that creativity will remain, or how long Beau Navire will stick together under this title, but for now they’re the kings of a dead genre. Beau Navire are more than just the sum of their parts.
