LA-based post-hardcore band, Touché Amoré, recently released their first new album in four years entitled Spiral In A Straight Line, accompanied by July announcement of their fall headlining tour featuring Soul Glo, Portrayal of Guilt, and Soft Blue Shimmer.
Distinguished as vanguards of the contemporary hardcore scene for more than a decade, Touché Amoré are acclaimed for their efforts and successes at transposing personal anecdotes on situational havoc into unadulterated, relentlessly expressive, and consciously impassioned music. Drawing from tragedy, compelled to vulnerability by devotion to authenticity, every album released has been marked with a transparency that has allowed listeners to share in their suffering and stages of grief. Spiral In A Straight Line continues this thematic approach by carving out the canon of Touché Amoré as being musically innovative, lyrically complex and emotionally deliberate and transformative.
Building off trajectory established from previous records, Spiral In A Straight Line pushes musical bounds while simultaneously hosting deeply-felt reflections about the fear ensued from uncontrollable situations. The entire record manifests as an exploration of all-consuming internal and external turbulence, and the battle towards resolution.
Kicking off the record with previously released track, “Nobody’s,” lead singer, Jeremy Bolm, takes on a narrating persona honing in on a “character” who proclaims to not know the answers, focusing on the idea that sometimes life just doesn’t make any sense at all. Bolm’s compelling artistic exploration of lyrical limits through pursuit of his staple, throaty-yet-particularly-clear scream atop clean execution of straightforward instruments, makes this track a perfect opener to a near-perfect album.
Listen to “Nobody’s” here:
Succeeding “Nobody’s” is second track, “Disasters.” Tearing through this song with a disjointed grace similar to the likes of Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me, “Disasters” commits to efforts of balancing intentional and raw passion. The bridge of the song is sonically Touché Amoré. An instrumental section takes over with a groovy bass line as the drums drop out and Bolm’s shrill scream slows down, almost to a speaking style, reciting rhythmic pitches in efforts to prepare listeners for the song to come to a close.
Up next is “Hal Ashby,” inspired by concepts the director of films Being There and Harold and Maude enforced—being caught in tragic miscommunications. References to “rose-tinted view,” or “a fools’ errand,” or even “red herring” represent a faulty view on harsh realties where, inevitably, a course correction follows. Again with the poignant storytelling, Touché Amoré offer a romantic take both musically and lyrically on how it feels to be redirected by a force out of your control.
“Force of Habit” takes on a similar approach lyrically as “Nobody’s.” With layered vocals, shouted lyrics finding the harmony between ideas of confronting harsh realities and presented opportunities for reflection, this track almost effortlessly allows the album to ride the spot between heavy and soft—furthering the band’s dive into their emotional core. For me, this track excelled at highlighting Bolm’s vocals–one of the elements still reasonably hardcore. A tad jarring against the atmospheric guitar parts (consistent with previous releases), he screams barring aggression, capturing the pain he wishes the audience to feel. This is a prime example of how Touché Amoré have evolved musically, using this record to exhibit new mastery over their sonics.
A drastic switch from the previous track, “Mezzanine” is faster-paced and unapologetically brutal in content and style. It’s easy to notice this is the central and most punishing song off this release. Pummeling drum beats only pause momentarily for haunting phrases like “We’re tangled up, and it’s not easy, it’s not easy …” to break through and echo the cinematic theme of the record, before picking up again—acknowledging the band’s characteristic abrasive impact while still finding new avenues of expression.
“Altitude” feels like a vicious and blunt document of the process for seeking out perspective. Hosting the album name as a lyric and anecdote of coping with the reckoning and monumental change that inspired this album, “Altitude” is a most engaging track for the band to outwardly claw through a tangle of complex emotions and genuinely walk listeners through the idea of moving forward (regardless).
“This Routine” and “Finalist” follow suit, both behaving like threads in the inevitable spiral, bringing the record to a nuclear concept of getting used to surviving the normalcy and uneasiness of entering a life that is both new yet contextually old. Lyrics like “going through routines but in thin air,” “dead of new days,” or “please have mercy on me, nothing’s what it used to be,” blaring over catchy, rung-out riffs display a level of ardency that marks an exciting turn for the band.
Perfectly melding with the rest of the album, “Subversion (Brand New Love) (feat. Lou Barlow),” is a powerfully melancholic act delving into questioning progress and the staggering places one might find themselves in. Bolm’s screams sit atop Sebadoh’s ‘Brand New Love,’ bringing about a holy collaboration with a gut-wrenching effect.
Lastly, the album comes to a close with Julien Baker harmonizing with Bolm on “Goodbye For Now.” An abrupt start eventually leads into the seamless blend of Baker’s soft voice paired with the abrasiveness of Bolm’s vocals. Singing about “find(ing) a new way to not fall away,” and coming around to ultimately accomplish self-forgiveness and leave without guilt, this song furthers themes of forensic self-examination present from end to end.
Overall, Spiral In A Straight Line listens like a very personal plea with the answers to bigger questions always left unknown. This album was beautifully written, mercilessly honest, and unequivocally vulnerable. This album bled effectual messages focused on introspection and is entirely worth the listen.
Listen to Spiral In A Straight Line here.
Photo courtesy of Touché Amoré
