Still Bust

A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not)

Written by: PP on 03/10/2013 22:09:00

Still Bust is a hardcore punk band from Gloucester, UK, who spent the first ten years of their career working on songs that eventually turned out to be this album, "A Few Things We Might Agree On (A Few Things We Might Not)". It's a ferocious piece of hardcore that draws from the intensity-driven realm of the genre, where you'll find bands that also dabble in other genres (metalcore, southern metal, etc) such as Norma Jean, Every Time I Die, et cetera. Primarily, their sound isn't as experimental nor pushing the envelope like the aforementioned bands, instead relying on a more straight-forward, albeit exceptionally aggressive version.

The first band you might think of is This Is Hell, mostly because of their vocalist's primal yell that's as piercing as they come. It's also one that's difficult to become friends with, because the dude screams and yells at the same, unvaried tone throughout the whole record, which has always been the biggest weakness of not just This Is Hell, but also their contemporaries in A Girl A Ghost A Gun and Run With The Hunted, two more bands that draw parallels to what Still Bust are doing here.

Occasionally, the record does diversify it's uncompromising, breakneck speed hardcore stance by adding subtle melodic undertones to the guitars, such as on "If You Don't Like Video Games (You Probably Have Other Interests"), and on "Be Optimistic (Said The Mayfly)" among other tracks. Here, the piercing yell is much more accommodating because it is contrasted by real melody-lines, whereas elsewhere on the record it can get a little tiring over the long run. What's interesting, though, is that Still Bust like to experiment with other elements than hardcore as well, evident in the dissonant guitars of "How Much We Sound Like Rise Against (And Other Things We Shouldn't Say To Each Other)", which has pieces of mathcore attached to it, and "Physicist At A Funeral (Godless Thoughts On Death)", which plays around with a capella sections and stuff like that.

Nonetheless, the songs don't really stick to your mind as much as they should, mostly because of the vocals being what they are: bland, anonymous and rarely memorable in a studio environment. So despite good ideas, the record feels long and forgettable.

6

Download: If You Don't Like Video Games (You Probably Have Other Interests)
For the fans of: This Is Hell, A Girl A Ghost A Gun, Run With The Hunted
Listen: Facebook

Release date 20.05.2013
Lockjaw Records

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