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No Bragging Rights

Illuminator

Written by: PP on 30/01/2011 08:27:11

When you run across a band with a name like No Bragging Rights who open their album with a brutal scream "I won't give uuuuuuup", you have every right to fear for the worst possible in stereotypical monotone hardcore about family, unity and stuff like that. Fortunately for the listener, the Californian dudes in this band take an entirely different and rejuvenating approach to hardcore on their sophomore album "Illuminator", one that positions itself somewhere between metallic hardcore and the cleaner post-hardcore type of stuff, and one that rekindles the genre with more melody than its European peers combined.

The basic premise follows the same idea as the likes of Alexisonfire, We Are The Ocean, or Your Demise utilize within the same style: energetic, high-tempo music driven by passion that's filtered through aggressive screaming and barking, contrasted by a superb clean vocalist and driving melodic hooks. Granted, No Bragging Rights are certainly a hardcore band at heart much more than the aforementioned, featuring only brief post-hardcore moments in their sound, but when these arrive, they make all the difference in the world. Songs like "6th & Main" or "Empire Disarray" showcase the brilliance of their clean vocalist during the choruses as he delivers back-chilling, soaring melodies that contest those by Dallas Green and Liam Cromby. These are often in direct contrast to technical hooks that can sound quite metalcore at times, but together they produce solid songs, even if they may be one tier below those by the scene leaders.

More importantly, however, No Bragging Rights reminds us how hardcore can sound like: melodic, without straying too much into punk rock, and distinct, where songs don't necessarily have to blend together in one monotonous mess of discordance. "Illuminator" might not be a great album, but it damn straight is a good one, and one worth hearing if for nothing else than their clean vocalist who has serious potential to develop into another worshipped singer in hardcore/post-hardcore. To sum up the record in one sentence, this is how Alexisonfire would sound like if they played hardcore without the post- tag attached to it.

Download: 6th & Main, Empire Disarray
For the fans of: Alexisonfire, We Are The Ocean, Your Demise
Listen: Myspace

Release date 11.01.2011
Blkheart Group