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<\/p>\nWhisper it \u2013 actually, scrap that, let it resound with a guttural howl \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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First up are The Long Haul, whose vocals immediately conjure Poison The Well\u2019s 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 \u2018Dead Soul\/Endless Drag\u2019 sounds in no way forced or out of place, and brings a hauntingly untarnished elegance to the surrounding chaos. \u2018Lost Harmony\u2019 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\u2019 tendency towards lyrical vapidity. Overall, this is a very promising start to The Long Haul\u2019s relationship with Tangled Talk Records.<\/p>\n
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 \u2018Cold And Distant, Not Loving\u2019. 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 \u2018Devotion\u2019 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 \u2018Young Wounds\u2019 shows what technically proficient musicians Kerouac are, but it is on closer \u2018Porcelain\u2019 that they truly punch through your ribcage, reach into your gut and show you what a mess they\u2019ve made of your insides.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the highlight of this release is Lewis Johns\u2019 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\u2019s \u2018The Passing Of Dreamers\u2019 and Kerouac\u2019s \u2018I Owe Some People The World But I Owe You Shit\u2019 it feels like you may be about to bear aural witness to the crumbling destruction of Johns\u2019 Ranch Production House.<\/p>\n
This is heavy, vital and intense. It is also subtle, deft of touch and fiercely intelligent. The New Wave Of British Hardcore (NWOBHCTM<\/sup>) just washed in.<\/p>\n www.kerouacband.wordpress.com<\/a><\/p>\n