Review Summary: The Kurt Travis (and also the Sergio Medina and the Joseph Arrington) show.
Last May, I wrote about how
Divisi, the (now-final) A Lot Like Birds album, was missing the hook of their previous two records. It didn’t feel as fully fleshed-out, particularly with no underlying story elements, and was sorely missing the vocals of departed vocalist, Kurt Travis. I still hold true to what I said and continue to believe that if Kurt had stuck around, A Lot Like Birds could only continue to build on the near-perfect soundscape they had accomplished on
No Place.
Now, I say these things to preface the fact that, in my opinion, Kurt Travis has done very little wrong in music. From his time in Dance Gavin Dance, to his solo material, and even his short-lived Eternity Forever project, he has continued to provide fantastic material throughout the years without much of a misstep. And
Royal Coda is no different. Employing the prowess of guitarist Sergio Medina (Stolas) and the technicality of drummer Joseph Arrington (A Lot Like Birds/Sianvar), in combination with Kurt’s ever-fantastic vocals, the self-titled debut is everything we want and more. Frantic, melodic, atmospheric, call it what you want; it’s really f
ucking good.
Kurt, both as a songwriter and as a vocalist, has proven himself to be as versatile as he is catchy. Whether it be the subdued/aggressive duo on tracks like ‘See Them Faceless’ or ‘Calm and Composed’, or the more direct approach on ‘Anything To Save’ or ‘Cut Me Under’, his voice never tires, always omnipresent but never stealing the show. Though his more straightforward approach to lyrics hasn’t changed; “Now the ship is sailing far away/From the harbor of love and stability”; it feels more impactful than in previous efforts (Strawberry Swisher Pt. 1 comes to mind…), and the impact Travis has as a vocalist completely nullifies these thoughts.
As the tagline says, however,
Royal Coda isn’t just the Kurt Travis show. Both Sergio and Joseph prove their flexibility as performers. Though the album does sound like something released on Blue Swan Records, it differentiates itself enough just enough to avoid the somewhat dreaded ‘sounds like swan-core’ label. The instrumentals play back and forth with atmosphere and technicality flawlessly without sounding jarring. The aforementioned ‘Calm and Composed’ builds towards a massive crescendo before slowing down and switching tones, before going back and then fading out. The guitar and drum work are masterful, adding layers of both insanity and melody, even coexisting at times, particularly on a track like ‘Cycled Through The Past’, which finds the perfect blend of unfocused chaos. This is some of their best work, even if it isn’t as ‘insane’ as what their other projects have touched on.
It’s feels fantastic, then, to appreciate
Royal Coda for what it is; another post-hardcore side project that succeeds at being just that,
fantastic. All three members have found the perfect way to blend their unique sounds into something that isn’t content with just being a combination of bands. Rather, they strive to push their song-writing capabilities, building environments that strive to make melody and technicality co-exist. And, unsurprisingly, it’s worked. And the end result is something that gets better and better with every listen.
4.6/5
Recommended Tracks: Anything To Save, See Them Faceless, Calm and Composed, Cycled Through The Past
