Review Summary: The new shape of punk to come.
In August of 2013, Solid State Records released the debut album of a band called The Ongoing Concept. Three brothers and one life-long friend from Rathdrum, Idaho released an album titled
Saloon which championed the idea of being true to yourself. These kids were still in high school (the youngest member graduated high school this year) yet already possessed great insight.
Saloon was a fun album, but its inspirations and consistency were all over the place. You had banjos and ballads, you had Born of Osiris style breakdowns, you had Refused style riffing– often times all in the same song. This made it an enjoyable record, but one that I never actually listened to fully more than once.
Going into
Handmade, the young band’s sophomore release, my expectations were cautiously optimistic. They had been touring relentlessly, they had aged a few years and matured, and had time to hone their skills. Largely, this time paid off, as
Handmade is able to stand out in a year filled with an already ridiculous amount of good content.
The album opens with the sound of a tree being chopped, presumably the same tree they used to build all of their instruments (that’s the meaning behind “handmade”– they actually made the drums/guitars themselves out of a single tree). That segues into “Amends”, a song that starts off with a simple drum beat and looped vocals by guitarist/clean-vocalist Dawson Scholz, but quickly opens up to double bass, a brass section, and the much improved harsh vocals of Kyle Scholz. The song is fast, catchy, and showcases the band’s improved song-writing. Next up is “Feel”, a song that features wonderfully bluegrass inspired guitar riffs, a big band brass section, and a crunchy bass line until half way through when distorted guitars and growls come into play. The song feels like something that Refused would have written back in their heyday.
Following “Feel” is seven songs that continue to keep the energy and intensity going. Whether it be the bouncy, almost nu-metal riffage in “Trophy”, the synth-heavy, won’t-ever-leave-your-head intensity of “Unwanted”, or the smoky jazz bar inspired closer, “Falling,” (probably one of the strongest songs) the album continues to throw new idea after new idea at you. I stated that this was an issue with their previous release, but the difference with this album is that instead of throwing several different genres into one song, they focus on a unique idea and build songs around them. This allows for more consistency, and shows the band has truly grown since their last album.
Staying true to yourself is the ideology The Ongoing Concept have had behind their releases thus far, and
Handmade is the culmination of them making music they’d want to listen to. There’s a great sense of fun and energy, and it’s incredibly refreshing. I get hints of He is Legend, Refused, and Every Time I Die from this album– all bands that you can arguably say shaped their respective genres in their time. That’s something you don’t usually see from young, new bands and it's what makes these guys so special.
Is this album perfect? No, not quite. The harsh vocals are still a bit grating at times. Kyle Scholz sounds like he is going to tear his vocal chords at any moment, and Dawson can still sound a bit whiny. Additionally, the album is 10 songs with one forty-five second intro, and intros going into the actual song count bothers me a bit.
What’s here though is an incredibly well thought out, well executed, post-hardcore album. These guys definitely wear their influences on their sleeves, but never fall into the generic rut that so many other bands do. This album was a pleasant surprise and leaves no doubt they will continue to mature and produce more albums that will be talked about years down the line.
