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Fiddlehead

Death Is Nothing To Us

Written by: PP on 28/01/2024 20:09:02

One of the records we missed out on last year was "Death Is Nothing To Us" by Fiddlehead, which features Pat Flynn of Have Heart fame on vocals. Their third album finally attacks the Title Fight-style dreamy post-hardcore vector head-on, rather than skating around the style in lighter melodies, as they did on their two preceding albums. The result is their loudest and heaviest album thus far, which is simultaneously their best, precisely because it echoes "Floral Green" vibes throughout in tribute-like fashion.

"The Deathlife", "Sleepyhead" and "Loserman" are brilliant opening three-punch for the record, showcasing three very different, yet ultimately similar takes on what Fiddlehead sounds like anno 2023. The first one is laced with danceable hardcore riffs almost like a Turnstile record, while "Sleepyhead" is heavy on riffs and dreamy post-hardcore, and "Loserman" is pretty much exactly how I would've wanted a new Title Fight album to sound like.

Vocalist Pat Flynn's melodic, yet scream-laden croons are incredible throughout, and his supporting cast offers perfectly timed contrasting shouts in the background for songs like "True Hardcore (II)". The balladic, slowly progressing "Welcome To The Situation" is both hopeful and desperate at the same time, while the shouted croons and melodic guitars of "Sullenboy" once again bring eerie Title Fight vibes to my ears (and that's a great thing).

The record's introspective vibe combined with its dreamy, light take on post-hardcore with subtle punk nuances is what makes it worthy of much praise. Sure, there were quite a few handfuls of bands sounding like this a decade ago (think Basement, Daylight, etc, or Sparta two decades ago for that matter) but nowadays few others sound like Fiddlehead. That room has allowed them to grow into one of the most exciting bands in this realm right now, resulting in their best album so far.

Download: Sleepyhead, Loserman, Welcome To The Situation, Sullenboy
For the fans of: Title Fight, Turnstile, Angel Du$t, Basement, Sparta
Listen: Facebook

Release date 18.08.2023
Run For Cover Records