Heart in Hand: Almost There

Whether you like hardcore music or not, you should give this album a try, as the UK-based Heart in Hand are one of the best things that have ever happened to this subgenre and Almost There is their strongest release so far.

The short intro called "Proposal" is a little bit misleading as it seems to be promising a much lighter and subtler affair than what we actually get here. But hey – this wouldn't be called hardcore if all the tracks followed the pattern of the gentle and melodic "Proposal", would it? The intro doesn't even bother to flow smoothly into the next track which is an insanely aggressive title composition, and the subsequent song, "Home/Sick", doesn't skimp on vitriol either, and it's impossible to argue that these two pieces aren't highly effective. What makes this band special, though, is the ability to marry some truly barbaric anger with many lighter and more progressive moments, and these are tracks that are the combination of such seemingly incompatible elements – or ones that break all the well established hardcore rules – that are my personal favorites on this album.

One of them is definitely track #4 called "Vows" which actually provides the listener with an opportunity to sit back and relax a bit, which is, obviously, an insane thing on a hardcore album! (But don't worry, hardcore purists, it is only 2 minutes long.) "Cuts and Bruises", on the other hand, is a pretty moody affair as it starts off peacefully, then allows the vocalist to spill all the hatred he managed to accumulate since the previous 100%-angry song, and later yet – near the track's halfway mark – breaks down to a lazier pace again. And then there's my number one fave on Almost There, "Old Tattoos". It begins like a classy prog-rock piece and doesn't reveal its inner HC-beast up until the final act – just lovely! "Broken Lights" is another winner and it, too, bears some easily recognizable prog-rock-influences.

If you want to check out the quality of the band's music without risking your hard-earned cash, you can find the video for the album's catchiest song, "Life Goes On", on the internet. It's good stuff, but believe me – Almost There is much more than just that as it reveals several more dimensions of this talented band.

Tracklisting:
1. Proposal
2. Almost There
3. Home/Sick
4. Vows
5. Sleeping Alone
6. Cuts And Bruises (feat. James Leatherbarrow of Death Of An Artist)
7. Maybe (feat. Mikey Chapman/Sam Douglas of Mallory Knox)
8. Old Tattoos
9. Life Goes On
10. Broken Lights (feat. Dani Winter Bates of Bury Tomorrow)
11. Our Atlantic
12. Direction
13. Latter

Added: March 15th 2013
Reviewer: Bartek Paszylk
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1986
Language: english

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