Hardcore triumph
It's really felt like things have been picking up lately in UK Hardcore and there are some great bands around at the moment - if you know where to look of course. Goodtime Boys are one of the best we've come across and have been picked up by American label Bridge 9 if proof was needed, so if you're a fan of the genre and this band haven't made your radar we recommend you check them out. Of course, now is the perfect time to do that, with the recent release of their new album on the aforementioned label which has been impressing us no end.
This isn't just a straightforward, in your face scream fest, Goodtime Boys hook you in with strong lyrical content, layered and atmospheric slow burns and technical proficiency, giving you plenty past the initial rush to keep you coming back to the album. Take Breathe for instance, which is a brilliant tune, starting with gently strummed, open guitars drenched in echoes before moving into more intricate patterns and heavy hit but well restrained drums and Alex Pennie's emotive and intense vocals, it's a powerful combination. Reunion comes straight after and impresses with clean and bright riffs - again technically these are interesting and playful, building and dropping over and over and taking you along for the ride. Rest cranks up the dreaminess with post-rock type builds from the guitar drifting underneath, it's superb. There are some nasty, ear battering moments of course, with sections of track Daylight taking your head off and leaving you with ringing ears if you've got it cranked all the way up, but they always make this sound like an emotional release rather than a gratuitous noise fest.
What's Left To Let Go is superb - Goodtime Boys have mastered the mix between emotional and technical perfectly and have given us an intense and memorable experience and one of the albums of the year by far.