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Caravels

Caravels EP

Written by: DR on 08/07/2011 16:08:52

Five-piece Caravels from Henderson, Nevada, USA, are the latest band I've taken a liking to following my ever-growing interest in the recent trend of screamo/hardcore that takes strong cues from obvious 90s influences. Their self-titled two-track EP, their first release through Topshelf Records, was released earlier in the year, and is but a small slice of what's to come from Caravels.

Caravels will draw comparisons to bands like Defeater and Touche Amore: the vocals are similarly furious and cathartic yet always clear, but this band are not just another hardcore band, because where others try to be as aggressive, pummelling, and heavy as they can, Caravels approach to song-writing is on a different level - that's not necessarily a superior/inferior level, just different. For instance, the intricate guitar-work in "Dream Beaver" wouldn't sound out of place in an indie/post-rock song; there are no breakdowns, there's no heaviness to it - it's bouncy! "Girth Impression" shows they can reveal their desperate side, as it begins distortedly, much like 90s screamo, with Mike Roeslein screaming "it was a mess, but it was ours, it wasn’t emptiness / it was a mess, but it was ours, it was ours to fix", but just as they surprised you by coming out of the blocks like that, they lose the distortion and bring the twinkly guitars back in, only to regain the intensity and throw it all back at your face.

Caravels have all the intensity and intelligence of other, more popular acts currently, only they take a different approach to hardcore, and I think that will set them apart from the rest in the future. It may only be two songs/eight-minutes long, but "Caravels" is a fine example of what makes this band good, and what in the future could make them great.

Download: Dream Beaver, Girth Impression
For The Fans of: Defeater, Hot Cross, Pianos Become The Teeth, Touche Amore
Listen: Bandcamp

Release Date 04.01.2011
Topshelf Records