Patrons

Momentary Effects Of Sunlight EP

Written by: PP on 24/03/2015 00:46:53

Now here's a band that has been almost completely overlooked by just about everyone. Patrons, as they are called, hail from Plymouth, UK, and play a brand of post-hardcore that owes its very existence to the hauntingly beautiful, yet forceful and aggressive atmospherics of Thrice circa "Vheissu"-era with plenty of Thursday inspiration thrown in for good measure. The four tracks on "Momentary Effects Of Sunlight" EP speak of a band with so much potential to be unleashed it's difficult to understand how this band hasn't exploded just yet, but I'll attribute it to the slightly coarse and underplayed production that, unfortunately, does no justice to the brilliant songwriting lying underneath.

Each of the four tracks is a challenging listen, consisting of depth-laden, complex arrangements that feature similarly haunting and beautiful melodies as Thrice, packaged into sections of rougher delivery and semi-screamed vocals. Many instrumentals are naturally progressive in this context because they focus more on mood-setting and atmosphere-building than a direct assault through catchy riffage. Yet together with the howls, these provide for very melodic crescendo-type structures that are characterized by their soaring nature. Opener "Roots" already hints at a magnificence to come, which is fully realized on "Circus", but the seven-minute mammoth "Blood Symphony" is clearly the centerpiece of this record. Drawing inspiration from "Beggars"-era Thrice's grandiose moments but keeping the soundscape rougher and torn with emotionally-charged aggression, the song has all the ingredients of a breakout written down all over it. Whether it's the slowly contrasted quiet/loud dynamics or the more driven call/response screams, the song delivers seven minutes of progressive brilliance that Thrice would feel proud to call their own.

Still, we do come back to the questionable production, which lets the songs and Patrons' potential down by just not being crisp and clear enough required to create a fully immersive atmosphere. The songwriting is spot on, so once they fix the production and provided they can deliver a full-length's worth of songs this beautifully composed and carefully balanced between aggression and solemn tranquillity, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't start building a name for themselves much like Burn The Fleet did for themselves nationally with exactly the same type of starting point.

Download: Blood Symphony, Circus, Roots
For the fans of: Thrice, Thursday, Burn The Fleet
Listen: Facebook

Release date 13.03.2015
Last Shop Records

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