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Shoreline

To Figure Out

Written by: PP on 07/04/2024 12:11:06

"To Figure Out" is the third album by German, emotionally-charged punk rockers Shoreline. It's rather different from their Brand New/Polar Bear Club-esque sophomore album "Growth", which relied heavily on post-hardcore dynamics. While "To Figure Out" also contains its fair share of post-hardcore influence, overall it's a step into a much more danceable direction, thus resembling what Citizen did on their latest album "Calling The Dogs".

The opener "Needles" has a few screamed passages, and "Darius" is similarly heavy with plenty of emotional charge during its "what if it works out, what if it works out" parts. Likewise, "Reviver" features distorted, coarse vocals and aggressive parts as its driving force.

At the same time, songs like "Workaround" (feat. Cris Cresswell of The Flatliners) utilize a quirky guitar tone and indie vibes much in the same vein as Foals did on their excellent "Antidote" back in 2008. "Health" is danceable like the Citizen record I mentioned earlier, and the light guitars on "Yuppie Kids" take you straight to the electro-influenced Britrock world circa mid-to-late 2000s. It's bouncy, and upbeat and gives off loungey vibes, which is a radically altered sound compared to the raw screams featured on "Growth".

The improved production gives plenty more oomph to their sound compared to the lower-budget version previously, so you don't end up missing the screams all that much. Songs like "Don't Feed" are infectiously catchy, featuring an upbeat sound that combines pop punk and danceable percussion rhythms as the driving force behind the song. This is where Shoreline should focus their energy, even if it does come at the cost of some of those defining quiet/loud dynamics that their previous material was known for.

Right now, "To Figure It Out" can feel a little bit schizophrenic as a result. On one hand, it's refusing to let go of their heavier, post-hardcore origins with several all-out brawls on the record. But then you also have the simplistic, catchy indie-flavored pop punk cuts like "Cold Feet" that objectively just work better on the record. They need to pick one of the two sounds because they're solid at both, but the overall soundscape suffers from being too all over the place in its current form.

Download: Needles, Reviver, Don't Feed, Seoul, Health, Darius
For the fans of: Citizen, Bayside, Basement, Foals
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.02.2024
Pure Noise Records