Whisper it – actually, scrap that, let it resound with a guttural howl – but the UK hardcore scene is in rude health. Labels like Holy Roar and Tangled Talk are leading the charge and this 6-track Split EP from Kerouac and The Long Haul is yet another of the gems making their job a little easier.
First up are The Long Haul, whose vocals immediately conjure Poison The Well’s Jeffrey Moreira, which they couple with a taut, direct musicality Botch would be proud to lay claim to. This is a technical and expansive assault on the (hard) core principles of a genre. A simple female vocal refrain on opener ‘Dead Soul/Endless Drag’ sounds in no way forced or out of place, and brings a hauntingly untarnished elegance to the surrounding chaos. ‘Lost Harmony’ sees Curtis Lightbown-Smith hit a lower, more aggressive vocal register akin to NY crossover bands Agnostic Front and Biohazard, but happily The Long Haul have ignored those acts’ tendency towards lyrical vapidity. Overall, this is a very promising start to The Long Haul’s relationship with Tangled Talk Records.
While for The Long Haul this EP serves as a statement of intent, for Kerouac it is an opportunity to show development following their impressive debut ‘Cold And Distant, Not Loving’. As before, they wear their love for Converge proudly on their sleeves, and at moments channel the sonic power of Will Haven, but theirs is actually becoming a very British brand of progressive hardcore. Like Burn Down Rome before them (a band whose passing this writer mourns with a ritual playing of ‘Devotion’ every other week), Kerouac have mastered the knack of using a clean guitar sound to punctuate, frame and enhance their brutality. The stop-start freneticism of ‘Young Wounds’ shows what technically proficient musicians Kerouac are, but it is on closer ‘Porcelain’ that they truly punch through your ribcage, reach into your gut and show you what a mess they’ve made of your insides.
Perhaps the highlight of this release is Lewis Johns’ production. It is the glue that unites this split and stops it being two separate records mashed messily together. Each and every component of this at once beautiful, agonising and terrifying record is crystal clear. The detail of every instrument is perfectly captured meaning repeat listens will most definitely be rewarded. The trick of occasionally dropping into a tinnier near-mono sound only to drop back in harder and fuller is used to great effect, so that when the double-kick drums hit on The Long Haul’s ‘The Passing Of Dreamers’ and Kerouac’s ‘I Owe Some People The World But I Owe You Shit’ it feels like you may be about to bear aural witness to the crumbling destruction of Johns’ Ranch Production House.
This is heavy, vital and intense. It is also subtle, deft of touch and fiercely intelligent. The New Wave Of British Hardcore (NWOBHCTM) just washed in.
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