Defeater - Empty Days & Sleepless Nights - cd/lp

Though there are still new bands around that make me all excited about hardcore, none of them manages to release a record that make me want to listen to only that one record for a week in a row. However great a record may be there are still enough other records I want to hear in a week.

Defeater is probably the exception to that rule. I have to admit that the first time I heard 'Empty Days', I was a bit dissapointed. After the 'Lost Ground' ep I expected the band to come up with ten versions of 'The Red, White and Blues' I guess and they didn't.

'Dear Father' is a song that could have been on the 'Lost Ground' ep but tracks like 'Empty Glass' and 'White Oak Doors' show a band that has progressed from their 'Travels' debut and dare to go further. Some parts of those songs remind me a bit of Touche Amore's 'To The Beat Of A Dead Horse' while other songs give me the same feeling as I had when I first heard American Nightmare's debut 7".

With 'Empty Days' Defeater probably released one of the best records of 2011 and one of those few classics that come around each year. If that's not enough there's also 'Sleepless Nights' four great acoustic songs which are as good as any material by Chuck Ragan or other punkrock singersongwriter hot shots. 'I Don't Mind' is a song that finds a place in your mind and doesn't leave for days.

Defeater might not appeal to everyone who's into classic hardcore, but if you're open to a band that has the courage to step outside the borders I doubt you will find anything better then these Boston boys.

Touché Amoré - ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse - cd/lp

After 7 different presses on vinyl and just in time for the European tour 6131 records is finally releasing Touché Amoré 2009's debut full length ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse in a nice digipack.

If you're still looking for the next best thing in hardcore, don't look further. Ever since the release of their demo in 2008 this Los Angeles based band (which is on the road all the time) have been bopping more heads than any other new band in hardcore around right now.

Whereas some people were very quick to categorise the band as a second hand Modern Life Is War or American Nightmare, I beg to differ. There are many similarities between the three bands, yet there are as much if not more differences.

Ofcourse singing about 'going to Morrissey to answer my questions, because Ian Curtis has left me hanging', does place a band in a certain section of the hardcore scene.

And the raw emotion in the voice of Jeremy Bolm does bare some resemblance to the sound of Modern Life Is War singer Jeffrey Eaton. Yet you only have to listen to 'Always Running Never Looking Back', on which Eaton does some guestvocals, to hear these are frontmen with different styles.

Touché Amoré is less straightforward than either American Nightmare or Modern Life Is War. Yet they pull off their 'arty' sound without scaring me and other people into plain and simple hardcore away.

At first I wasn't that much into the sound of the whole record. And I remember even having a discussion with Rob Moran (bassplayer of a certain band) about it. In the end I have to admit he was right. The sound of ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is different from what is considered the right sound nowadays. But it's also refreshing, when you have warmed up too it, to hear something different than another Kurt Ballou, Jay Maas or Bill Stevenson production. It adds a flavour to the band.

If you are looking to invest in a hardcore band I would say Touché Amoré is the band to go with. They got the style, originality and personality to become the American Nightmare of this era. The only thing left to wonder is, will they be able to write another full length as good as this one?

Midnight Souls - Colder - 7"

'And I curse every streetlight
Run away and find myself at the gates of Leon's old factory
Where my father used to work
Before they fired him
The economy takes its toll old man
Here's your check now raise up that chin'

Belgium's Midnight Souls have already made quite a name for themselves in their own country. With 'Colder' they show that they're ready to take the band to the next level.

There's no denying the band is influenced by the school of American Nightmare and Modern Life Is War. Especially vocalwise it could be Jeffrey Eaton behind the mic every now and then.

But to put the band aside as merely a clone wouldn't do them any justice. Midnight Souls bring their own history in the mix. Hence the lyrics about growing up in a Miners town on 'Black Lung Disease'. Much like the way Modern Life Is War described Marshalltown, USA on 'Witness'.

Songs like 'Black Days' and 'River Town Rains' show that Midnight Souls aren't afraid to step out of hardcore borders on their way to a style of their own. Though they aren't there yet 'Colder' offers five angry outbursts of life in Belgium. People into American Nightmare, Modern Life Is War, Touche Amore and The Hope Conspiracy can definately add this 7" to their collection.

And yes the artwork is done by Linas Garsys (known for his work for American Nightmare, Count Me Out, A Fire Inside and a dozen other bands), so you know it's good.



I have a white copy. Reflections also released a black version.

Midnight Souls - July 15 - Tilburg

It's bloggerin' time. My vacation is over, so it's back to the computer and back to my blog. Posts about Right Idea and Rearranged are coming up soon. But first I want to share the show of Midnight Souls in Tilburg on July 15.

Midnight Souls is the latest addition to the Reflections roster. A 7" entitled 'Colder' is coming soon with artwork by Linas Garsys.

The last time I saw the band was when they opened up for The Hope Conspiracy in Antwerp. Big stage, big venue so I was curious how these new Belgium heroes would do it in the small intimate setting of the Little Devil.

Boy they blew me away. Midnight Souls is somewhere between Modern Life Is War and American Nightmare. While many bands play a similar style, Midnight Souls bring something extra which makes them stand out from the rest of the wolfpack. They have a very intense show. The future is bright for these guys, though their lyrics are kind of dark.

Can't wait for the ep to arrive.