On Bad Luck, Trophy Scars seem to have dumped almost everything that once associated them with "standard" post-hardcore. There are no generic breakdowns (like in "No"), no catchy simplistic octave chord sections (like in "Assistants"), and no pure "screaming sections" (like in Lesson 3 and many others), and in their place lies something beautiful, organic and completely original. To put it bluntly, Trophy Scars have grown up.
The first thing I noticed was the change in vocals. Jerry's love for Tom Waits is very evident here; his vocals sound downright filthy and grimy. A.J. had been dropped from the lineup, making room for two more guitarists/pianists, Adam Moutafis and Josh Wiseman (both ex-Maverick I believe), making for a grand total of three guitarists. Piano is present throughout the entire album, and horns, strings, and saxophone all make appearances as well. These ingredients coalesce into an extremely thick, multi-layered, complex sound, with "bluesy" lead guitar played over pretty much everything. The result is just gorgeous, and it all seems organic; nothing sounds tacked on (even the saxophone solos).
Because of the sheer thickness of the sound on this record, this is a pretty complex album that might be inaccessible to many in the traditional post-hardcore scene. However, I can't remember a recent release that I have been so attached to. So do yourself a favour and buy it now. Don't just download it; they almost broke up over money problems before, let's not let it happen again. No worries though, you won't regret forking over $12 for an album of this caliber. |
