Review
DREAM ON, DREAMER – HEARTBOUND
Released 12th September (Rise Records)
Words: Richard Heaven
I ask you to cast your mind back to the beginning of the summer, when a once exciting label called Victory signed a band called Design The Skyline. It felt like a parody of everything poor about the current pop-hardcore scene, a parody which would of been funny if it all wasn’t so serious.
Unfortunately Heartbound finds itself battling for the same fans as DTS with all the cliches and hardcore-by-numbers tricks it can call upon. Generic screams duel with overly-pained clean vocals against a constantly muddy breakdown before being temporally halted by the introduction of (shock horror!) a dramatically ethereal synth line. From a critical point of view the album lacks not only any real structure but also any sense of fun which could have made it enjoyable to those who don’t take their hardcore too seriously.
It’s only saving grace is the final track, Lifestream. The first two thirds distance themselves from the rest of the album with a structure and sense of maturity which could be a huge step forward for the band if they just develop it a little further without resorting to the generic formula displayed prior to this.
Honestly – I picked this up because it had the Rise Records stamp on it. Can the label offer better then this? Definitely. Dream On, Dreamers.
