Anchoress

Stay Positive

Written by: PP on 25/07/2022 19:22:17

Anchoress is a relatively unknown post-hardcore band out of Vancouver, BC, yet their latest album "Stay Positive" carries itself with a strong sense of vibrant urgency similar to what you heard on early Touché Amoré records. That is to say, they play a screamo-laden brand of emotionally-charged post-hardcore with heavy punk undertones attached, as well as influence from the more ambient moments of Title Fight records. In that sense, they're in the same category as bands like Comadre, Suis La Lune, Departures and of course, the genre heavyweights Pianos Become The Teeth, La Dispute, and Defeater.

"Anxious Hum" is a great example of Anchoress at their best. It's best described as a chaotic outpour of emotions encompassed in instantly catchy urgency, featuring even Title Fight-esque treble-charged guitar melody in the middle. Together with "Hydrodynamic", it takes you all the way back to mid-2000s emo, where the latter even sounds like Armor For Sleep wrote a screamo record and shouted all over it for good measure.

The other style that Anchoress utilizes heavily as an inspiration is hardcore. "Peace Lines", for instance, is an aggressive piece with cacophonic piano and groovy guitars swirling around a breakneck speed soundscape. The term urgency comes to mind once again as the sheer emotion and passion on display here is undeniable.

"An Old Wolf" showcases yet another side, this one is a bit slower in terms of tempo to create a proper build-up. Here, the scratchy clean vocals of vocalist Rob Hoover come to their own, drawing close parallels to La Dispute material. The same goes for "Psychobabble".

Overall, "Stay Positive" is a ferocious album that carries its heart visibly on its sleeve throughout. It's laced with screamo and punk rock to give it that incredible sense of urgency that dominates the record, but the band carefully injects just enough emo and post-hardcore to have it carve out a space of their own. Solid record.

Download: Anxious Hum, Hydrodynamic, Peace Lines, An Old Wolf
For the fans of: Touché Amoré, Comadre, Suis La Lune, La Dispute, Pianos Become The Teeth, Departures, Drug Church, Defeater
Listen: Facebook

Release date 25.03.2022
Early Onset Records

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