Review Summary: Settling unfinished business.
Soul Blind is an interesting band to emerge from the Hudson Valley hardcore scene. While certainly not aiming to reinvent the wheel, their unique blend of grunge and shoegaze stood out amongst the ever-growing ocean of contemporaries as a fresh, exciting take on the 90's alternative revival. After releasing the incredibly promising
Third Chain EP in 2021, the band proved that they weren't simply another group of hardcore bros with expensive reverb pedals who just discovered drop D tuning like cavemen discovering fire. No, these guys knew how to write some seriously
catchy songs. Driven by the dense, crushing waves of guitar courtesy of Justin Sarica and Finn Lovell combined with the shapeshifting vocals of bassist Christopher "Cen" Hoerter, alongside secret weapon Steve Hurley behind the drumkit. The band's swirling blend of styles toeing the line between bone-shattering heaviness and soul-cleansing ear candy was an explosion of color in a scene that was becoming dull, grey, and lifeless.
Unfortunately, sometimes in life we don't always put our best foot forward when it truly matters. The band's debut LP
Feel It All Around felt like the definition of untapped potential. While not a bad record in the slightest, the songwriting felt much less inspired than their previous work, and Cen's newfound vocal delivery came across as amateurish and occasionally awkward. Not without its highlights such as the undeniably catchy "Stuck In A Loop" and spellbindingly enchanting "In the In Between", there was a sparkle of potential that was just begging to come out. Fast forward three years, and Soul Blind have returned with a new sound and a new lease on life. Through the trials and tribulations of touring on the back of
Feel It All Around, on top of signing with Closed Casket Activities a new dawn has arrived for the band in the form of their sophomore LP,
Red Sky Mourning.
Upon listening to the fiery opening track "Business or Pleasure" and mosh-worthy single "Dyno", it becomes clear early on that these guys are
pissed. Fully leaning into their distinct brand of grungy, riff-fueled mayhem right out of the gate with a sense of urgency unlike anything they've done prior. The comparisons to Alice In Chains are just begging to be made here, as Cen channels his inner Layne Staley energy while driving the explosive tones of Lovell and Sarica. Lead single "Hide Your Evil" continues the trend of the band unashamedly wearing their influences on their sleeve, as the song boasts a lead riff highly reminiscent of "Headup" by Deftones with an overarching vibe of Helmet and a touch of Quicksand. Despite this, "Hide Your Evil" is a remarkably addictive tune. Blossoming into what the band does best, with Cen's maturity and progression as a vocalist taking center stage, delivering one hell of a chorus.
"It's all in the way, I slide in through. It's never failing I'm not myself. I feel renewed."
As most fans of this style of music will agree - heavy is a good thing, but perhaps a deterrent for fans who were into Soul Blind's dreamier side. Fear not, as "Mistake to Wonder" soothes the burn with the album's first taste of the softer, shoegaze-y side they became known for. This moment of solace is short lived however, as following track "Billy" hurls us right back into the mouth of madness and proves to be the heaviest song the band has ever written.
"I'm inside of the cell. Everything feels like nothing." Cen belts out with an unprecedented aggression as the song collapses into sheer chaos.
No sign of slowing down from here, as the second half rivals the first in terms of quality. "Thru the Haze" is a massive highlight showing off some of finest hooks the album has to offer, an anthemic banger confidently displaying how much each member of the band has matured as songwriters. Title track "Red Sky Mourning" is another track worthy of note, as it contains the most touching chorus on the record.
"Stay forever, lay here with me." Drummer Steve Hurley deserves his flowers too, as penultimate track "New York Smoke" creates one hell of a ruckus. Closing track "Closer to You" brings the album full circle with a mellow farewell carried by crystalline wisps of melodic guitars that sound like ascending to the heavens above.
Overall, its safe to say that
Red Sky Mourning rocks pretty damn hard. Soul Blind are angry, passionate and have certainly felt a fire lit under their asses - yet despite this have not forgotten to shine a light on their radiant side. The elephant in the room still remains, the album is quite derivative and those looking for a reinvention of the wheel will ultimately walk away from
Red Sky Mourning feeling disappointed. However, those who have been following the band's trajectory will be quite pleased with the end result here. A solid step in the right direction for a band with limitless potential,
Red Sky Mourning is far from a sophomore slump but still doesn't quite reach the mark of a truly spectacular work of art. Only time will tell if the Hudson Valley rockers can realize their full potential. For now, we have a fun new batch of tunes to crack open a beer and have a skate to.
