If you were to listen to the latest offering from Miles Away, Rewind, Repeat
, and yet knew nothing of the band, the last place that you would guess they were from would be Australia. If anything, you would have come up with either the Pacific Northwest or Boston. And while both are logical guesses based on the style of music Miles Away play; you obviously couldn't be further from the truth.
Rewind, Repeat
is the second full-length and third overall release from melodic hardcore outfit Miles Away - the two previous coming via Bridge Nine Records. Like their previous ventures, this album is jam packed with fast-paced hardcore with a standard fair of melodic accents.
The band launches into things with "100 Yen," a typical intro track, though this one actually has a complete set of lyrics. This catapults the listener right into the thick of things on "Window Seat." A wave of soaring guitars and energetic drumming hits you. This is quickly followed by semi-coarse yells - think Have Heart's Pat Flynn. In fact, the whole combination of music and vocals brings to mind not only Have Heart, but also Champion. Like I said, there is this Northwest meets Boston vibe going on.
Miles Away moves through Rewind, Repeat
at a blistering pace. The songs primarily last for about two-minutes. "Voices" is a prime example of what you can expect from these Aussies. The song opens with a slightly melodic riff, which repeats for a few measures, and then the pace quickens with some killer drumming and phenomenal guitar work. There is a tight two-stepping part towards the end and there are plenty of gang-shouts to go around too! Another highlight is the closing tracks "Affidavit" and "(Rewind, Repeat
)." An acoustic guitar precedes the former before launching into a killer melodic hardcore tune while the latter is a return to the acoustic guitar as an outro. This is the third or fourth time in the past year I've heard a band utilize the acoustic in this manner, and I like it every time.
Lyrically, vocalist Nick Horsnell tackles topics that you're used to hearing about from bands of this nature: life on the road ("Window Seat"), inner turmoil ("Sailor's Grave"), thinking for oneself ("Brainwashed"), etc
But the manner in which the lyrics are written allows Miles Away to be distinguished from their peers. It's almost as though you're reading poetry and not the rantings of a bitter young man.
After Bridge Nine didn't opt pick up this album, I was a little worried about what the new songs may sound like. So if you were in the same boat as me, you can rest easy as these songs are not throwaways. Rewind, Repeat
is definitely an album you need to pick up if high-octane melodic hardcore is your thing. And on a personal note, I made it an entire review without a Crocodile Dundee crack; I'm proud of myself.
