For a genre such as hardcore, it's hard for a band to sound different... or good, for that matter. I dislike hardcore music, but this sounded like an emo-core/hardcore hybrid. Since By Man is the best hardcore band I've ever listened to - they play fairly fast (or, at least, they CAN play fast if they choose to do so), but sound more like Thursday during the breakdowns.
For a hardcore band, I give it a 9/10.
In general, I give it a 5/10.
I think I have whiplash. An incredibly addictive hardcore album with infectious riffs and powerful, gut-wrenching vocals are the best random synonyms for "whoah-kick ass" that I can think of at the moment. The vocals play off the guitars beautifully, and everything in between are seemingly endless chances for innovation that Since By Man capitalize upon nearly every time. Much like Converge, SBM seem to use the vocals as an instrument rather than a dominant force that duels with the guitars at every corner, which is always a welcome feature for my hardcore listening pleasure.
Lately, it has been difficult to read a music magazine with out encountering the statement "(Band X) breaks/pushes the boundaries of typical (Genre Y)"
I'm sure somebody has already filled in the variables for this one:
X = Since by Man and Y = Hardcore.
We Sing the Body Electric is Since by Man's first full-length release after a series of splits with other bands. On this album, the band took a new direction, departing from the homogeneity of typical hardcore to a sound that is more diverse.
The songs are a mixture of intense hardcore with surging guitars and earsplitting screams a la Converge and breakdowns with tangled guitars and shouted vocals through a bullhorn; very similar to Jayson Green's on the last Orchid album. When Sam Macon recites "I know you know this is mutiny, I know you know this is secrecy" on "A Kid Who Tells on Another Kid is a Dead Kid" (not a Nation of Ulysses cover) the anthematic feel the band is going for takes on a certain detail of cheesiness. On the last track, when Macon chants "This is how we dance, dance/This is how we sing, sing" the "dance" shtick, that is way to prevalent in punk music today, begins to wear thin.
Yet, We Sing the Body Electric is a breath of fresh air in the hardcore genre (which seems to be bogged down with too many Botch rip-offs right now) and particularly exciting for a release on Revelation records. The band demonstrates its willingness to separate itself from many of its hardcore counterparts by putting across a level of intellect in naming the album title after a Walt Whitman poem and placing excerpts from literature in the booklet. There is a large sonic range in the music that is very captivating and will require repeat listens.
Jaded hardcore fans looking for a little more than the typical chugga-chugga mosh songs will eat this album up. Although We Sing The Body Electric is not groundbreaking like The Shape of Punk to Come, Since by Man have created an album which is very fresh and exciting.
Was it really only two years ago that Since By Man unleashed their debut CD, We Sing the Body Electric? Granted, an EP in the form of A Love Hate Relationship was designed to tide over their salivating audience in between tours and writing sessions, but personally it feels like a great deal more time has passed in between. Enter … Read more
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