Since self-releasing their mini-album, "Left Fire", back in 2011 (with a physical re-release last year), ARCANE ROOTS' popularity has been gaining all the way with Radio One airplay- courtesy of none other than BIFFY CLYRO's Simon Neil, a record deal with PIAS and hype in pretty much every corner of the music press under their belts. But if such a huge surge of interest in the band in such a short space of time doesn't seem daunting to you then, with the release of their debut album "Blood & Chemistry", now it's time for ARCANE ROOTS to really put their money where their mouths are. With an even more dazzling array of genres mixed in than ever before; prop, pop, alt-rock, post-hardcore, math-rock and anything else they feel a track needs, ARCANE ROOTS manage to pull it all together into one cohesive product delivering an album that is innovative without being divisive and accessable without being overly commercialised.
Opening with the hardcore blast of "Energy Is Never Lost Just Redirected", it seems less like a statement of intent and more a full blown declaration of war proving that, while they've never disguised the pop vein to their music or their love of a good hook, ARCANE ROOTS are no conformists and do exactly what they want to. Next comes advance single, "Resolve" which has the aforementioned pop hooks in spades yet still willfully confounds expectations with a frantic variation on the main riff rearing it's head at the song's climax. They slow things right down for ballad "Belief" mixing math-rock noodles into what could be a slower cut from BIFFY CLYRO's "Puzzle" but the frenetic, angular riffing returns on "Sacred Shapes" which has shades of, "Left Fire" highlight, "In This Town Of Such Weather" with some 22 thrown in for good measure before a lush acoustic outro shows yet another side to their sound. "Hell & High Water" is a colossal anthem in waiting and "Triptych" illustrates the immense technical prowess of the band with an off-kilter blend of math-rock and post-hardcore and an insane mathcore bridge verging on THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN territory. Second single, "Slow" is anything but its namesake and isn't as easily accessable as "Resolve" but definitely warrants repeated listens and a reprise of the outro to "Sacred Shapes" asking "is love enough?" gives the album an overall cohesion rather than just being a collection of (admittedly brilliant) tracks. Following this, ARCANE ROOTS go in an entirely opposite direction with the heaviest track on the album, "Second Breath" but even at their most frenetic, there's still plenty of depth to the songwriting. The semi-acoustic "Held Like Knives" is the weakest track here but it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination while the best is saved 'til last with "You Keep Me Here" condensing the numerous sounds they explore across the album into one final outing. Their relative inexperience doesn't shine through at all and one wonders how long it will be before ARCANE ROOTS follow BIFFY CLYRO onto the arena circuit. (8/10)
"Blood & Chemistry" is out now through PIAS
Following on from a brief (unsuccessful) reunion last year as well as reissues of "Vaya" and "In/ Casino/ Out" comes the re-release of two more seminal albums from post-hardcore pioneers, AT THE DRIVE-IN. This time around of their hard to find debut, "Acrobatic Tenement", and their swansong, "Relationship Of Command". For those of you who are unfamiliar with the band, they were one of the most forward thinking post-hardcore bands of the 90s and are talked about with the same reverence as the likes of HOT SNAKES, FUGAZI and REFUSED. You will probably also be familiar with the core of the band, Omar Rodríguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who went on to form prog trailblazers THE MARS VOLTA as well as a whole host of other projects. All this history, though, would count for nothing if the music was no good but luckily both "Acrobatic Tenement" and "Relationship Of Command" are molten slabs of post-hardcore genius.
While "Acrobatic Tenement" lacks the refinement and production values of "Relationship Of Command", the album still has plenty of evidence of their wildly inventive approach to songwriting. "Acrobatic Tenement" has always been underappreciated in preference of their later releases (of the 11 tracks here only "Initiation" was featured on their "This Staion Is Non-Operational" career retrospective) but it's still an essential musical history lesson. Along with their distinctive mix of '90s hardcore and off-kilter riffing, on their debut album they also take a punt at pop-punk providing a sheer contrast to the frenetic pace of their heavier tracks. Overall, it isn't the highlight of their career but it more than hints at the great things to come and for any fan it's still an essential purchase. (8/10)
Widely regarded as their masterpiece, "Relationship Of Command" was At The Drive-In's final album and has provided an inspiration for countless post-hardcore bands over the 12 years since its original release. Featuring guest vocals from IGGY POP ("Rolodex Propoganda") and an arsenal of surefire punk rock hits with all the ingenuity and charm you'll have since come to expect from Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-Lopez, the album saw ATD-I continuing their transition to genuine underground icons poised at the brink of stardom. It's since been well documented in the reasoning behind their split how ATD-I lost interest in the post-hardcore scene but it bears pointing out that the band never allowed themselves to be restricted by genre anyway. With production from the godfather of nu-metal, Ross Robinson, "Relationships Of Command" flew in the face of expectations while still retaining the band's unique sound. Over a decade later, it still sounds as vital as it ever did. (9/10)
These reissue provide two classic snapshots of genre shaping post-hardcore albums and, while (with the exception of "Catacombs" on "Relationship Of Command") they don't come with any bonus material, are essential additions to any record collection that hasn't already found them a home.
"Acrobatic Tenement" and "Relationship Of Command" are both out now through Transgressive
