Touché Amoré - 2011 Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me

Band : Touché Amoré

Album : Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me
Release Year : 2011

Genre : Screamo | Hardcore

Tracklist :

1. ~
2. Pathfinder
3. The Great Repetition
4. Art Official
5. Uppers/Downers
6. Crutch
7. Method Act
8. Faceghost
9. Sesame
10. Wants/Needs
11. Condolences
12. Home Away From Here
13. Amends

In February of 2011, Touche Amore piled into their beat up tour van in an Los Angeles suburb and set off on a twenty six hour journey to Eudora, Kansas. With a population of just over four thousand people, Eudora may be a peculiar place for a punk band to go, but nestled in its rural isolation is acclaimed engineer Ed Rose and his Black Lodge Studios (formerly Redhouse Recording Studio). There under Rose's attentive ears, Touche Amore poured their patchwork soul into their latest work, "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me".

In "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me", Touche Amore's creative formula is driven by emotional affect, not contemporary studio effects. In the purest form possible, raw shouted vocals and clean manic guitars fight for volume over roomy bass and percussion. Creating a sound that is shockingly simple as it is emotionally engaging. The serene and fragile opening notes of "Tilde" serve as the album's introductory serenade before Touche Amore pound and jangle into the hook-laden song. And seconds later, when vocalist/lyricist Jeremy Bolm screams "...I'm parting the sea between brightness and me...", a tone of desperation sets in that resonates throughout the duration of the album. His straight forward cries convincingly tell his own personal story. To some, this lyrical writing could read as a diary based purely in self deprecation, but his words cut and pull from a much deeper place in the heart. Serving as an open window into his constant soul searching amid life's constant trials and tribulations. Songs like "Home Away From Here" and "Sesame" are great examples of this, infectious in their sound and moving lyrical spirit. While "Method Act" and the emotional "Condolences" show the band experimenting with epic leanings while maintaining their beloved trademark character. Without a doubt, Touche Amore's "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me" is a stunning full length achievement on any scale. Proving that there is true beauty within the concept of artistic simplicity.

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Touché Amoré and Make Do and Mend - 2010 split

Band : Touché Amoré and Make Do and Mend

Album : Split
Release Year : 2010
Genre : Screamo / Hardcore

Tracklist :

Touche Amore
1. Smoke Signals
2. Hideaways

Make Do And Mend
1. Hand Me Downs
2. Cobweb

Are Touche Amore crutch wielders to that of greater bands succumbing their own future and never allowing them the room to breathe in which they’ll find their own footing, or have they just bitten off more than they can chew for once? Yes, they share the title role with Make Do and Mend but after the magnificent split with La Dispute leading in Smoke Signals and Hideaways / Hand Me Downs and Cobwebs, where Touche Amore found the glorious spotlight, one can’t help compare the two efforts in hopes that there is a sense of progression and not just one-hit wonders abound. Ironically the answer to that question is a yes and a no. This is primarily due to the fact that the EP, seen in separate light, is good, if not great, but following the heavy wake of Searching For A Pulse / The Worth of the World it’s presence is quite futile.
The good news is that both Touche Amore and Make Do and Mend are at the top of their game here. Both bands present lyrical qualities that are top notch and each craft hardcore atmospheres to the finest degree. Except this is where the problem arises. Both bands have such opposite tactics to achieving this goal the split feels, for lack of a more suitable word, split. Touche Amore are gritty and heavy handed on the gut punches. Make Do And Mend, however, enter with such a poppier aspect that it disassembles the previous minutes, this is not to say that it outshines the first half, but merely does not keep the flow that was established much like La Dispute was able to do. While Touche are busy outraging, Make Do and Mend are busy cranking out party jams; both display excellent examples of the growth hardcore is personifying, but cement the balance between both bands styling’s - they do not.
When compared with the Searching For A Pulse… it’s clear to see why it was such a success; both bands tethered at the hip equaled each other even when they weren’t equals. They spoke for one another, shared the same agony and harbored the same execution technique; here there is a lack of understanding between the two bands. Forgive me for raising such comparisons but La Dispute and Touche Amore really raised the bar as far as splits are concerned. Sure, this is the way most splits are done, separate ideas brought to the table to be placed on one disc, but Searching For A Pulse… expanded the boundaries presenting the assumption that all bands should be a cohesive unit when working as one. It’s not that neither band aren't working together – per say, it is to say, however, that both bands are melding two contrasting styles as one, and where one EP succeeded this one does not.

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Touché Amoré - 2010 Live at WERS

Band : Touché Amoré

Album : Live at WERS
Release Year : 2010
Genre : Screamo / Hardcore

Tracklist : 

a1-and now its happening in mine

a2-cadence

a3-broken records

a4-swiming with sharks

b1-history reshits itself

b2-nine

b3-adieux

b4-honest sleep

These guys are awesome live and this album shows it. No bullshit, just playing straight up. And the spoken word part in Cadence is audible, which is a plus.

 

 

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Touché Amoré - 2009 ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse

Band : Touché Amoré

Album : ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse
Release Year : 2009
Genre : Screamo / Hardcore

Tracklist : 

1. And Now Its Happening in Mine
2. Honest Sleep
3. Cadence
4. Throwing Copper
5. Swimming With Sharks
6. History Reshits Itself
7. Suckerfish
8. Broken Records
9. Nine
10. Always Running, Never Looking Back
11. Adieux

 

Touche Amore’s ... To The Beat Of A Dead Horse, is a record to take seriously. One look at the ominous cover can tell you that. A harrowing black and white cover complete with trite symbolism in the form of a foreboding rain cloud certainly displays a feeling of danger, ominousness, and even foreboding doom. Touche Amore are just one of the many recent bands to integrate emo and hardcore music. The most striking aspect is that no song hurdles the 3 minute mark. Short and pithy, ... To The Beat is a screamo-influenced modern hardcore record with a melodic twist. Too much genre?... my apologies, but ... To The Beat Of A Dead Horse really is a superb blend of genre-bending qualities.
It’s hard to separate this record from the anguish and agony (present on the cover, even) that bedevils the living daylights out of Touche Amore. From the lucid songwriting to the cathartic stops/starts, to the overall bluntness of this record, Touche Amore sound incredibly disturbed, in a good way. The screams are particularly poignant, as rather than furiously scream cryptically, frontman Jeremy howls his words slowly and comprehensibly. Jeremy isn’t he only voice in ... To The Beat, though. Thursday’s Geoff Rickly lends his voice on the melodic, “History Re***s Itself,” which works surprisingly well; along with an appearance from Modern Life Is War frontman, Jeffrey Eaton, later on.
The riffs reflect this quality of comprehensibility as the more prodding, deliberate guitar lines are evident rather than the usual intricacy associated with similar bands. Many times repetition is used among the screams, just take a listen to the end of “Cadence,” and the refrain of the title, “I am marching to the beat of a dead horse.” While it certainly focuses attention on the screaming, it feels like we’re missing out on a lost facet of the music, as the overly simplified guitars tend to fade into the background. In their place though, among the controlled yet chaotic screaming, is superb percussion. The drumming on ... To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is driving, violent, and forceful, and keeps the album moving swiftly and surely. The lyrics are often moving and passionate, and one of the album’s biggest strengths is Touche Amore’s uncanny ability to fit so much substance into such a small package. ... To The Beat’s exceptional brevity is on full display on one track in particular, “Nine.” Clocking in at 0:44, “Nine” is a testament to Touche Amore’s ability to fit so much lush emotion into such a little space...

“I'm biting the hairs on my arm like I do / when I don't know where I am or what I should do. / I've been blessed with these eyes that come with innocent questions, / like where I'm from, holding expectations / to give obvious answers and tell no lies. / But I swear there's nothing innocent in these eyes, / because I've seen dead friends, / and I've seen murder, / and I've done things I wish I hadn't done.”

... To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is short and sweet, yet refuses lose any passion in the process. Despite the minor fault of over-simplicity at points, Touche Amore’s debut full length is incredibly promising. Don’t be too intimidated by the ominous clouds overhead, ... To The Beat Of A Dead Horse is as rewarding as it is agonizing, and it’s pretty agonizing.

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Touché Amoré - 2008 Touché Amoré

Band : Touché Amoré

Album : Touché Amoré
Release Year : 2008
Genre : Screamo / Hardcore

Tracklist :

1. Negotiating the Charade
2. Huckleberry
3. WeHateFredPhelps.com
4. Broken Records
5. Hipsterectomy
6. Changing Lanes
7. Scene is to be Seen
8. Honest Sleep

Touché Amoré play a weird role in screamo revival. Certain moments on their debut 7" certainly bear resemblance to their oft-cited influences like pg. 99 and Orchid, yet their structure largely remains closer to equally dark, more straightforward-yet-forward-thinking hardcore acts like Modern Life Is War and Spanish Bombs. 

That's due to the fact that this 7" never really contains any clear moments of overwhelming spazziness or intensity, but in no way do those voids detract from it. This is a very fresh hardcore sound, full of a searingly intense vocal front and careful, clever changes in tempo and direction. It's the sort of sound that espouses all shades of gray while remaining compelling and dynamic. 

It's also littered with issues that appear very near and dear to the members' hearts, like the self-explanatory "WeHateFredPhelps.com" and digital bonus "Hipsterectomy," the latter of which seems to be a call-to-arms for originality levied towards the L.A. hipster scene.

They've already got their first full-length on the way, with some serious cameos in the mix (Jeff Eaton, Geoff Rickly). This was a great start, but I'm ready to be floored by what's next.

 

 

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La Dispute and Touché Amoré Split - 2010 Searching For A Pulse / The Worth Of The World

Band : La Dispute and Touché Amoré

Album : Searching For A Pulse  / The Worth Of The World
Release Year : 2010

Genre : Experimental / Post-Hardcore / Screamo

Tracklist : 

Touché Amoré
1. I'll Get My Just Deserve
2. I'll Deserve Just That

La Dispute
3. How I Feel
4. Why It Scares Me

Two hardcore giants come together melding a fantastic EP that will appeal to several fans of the sub divisions within the growing genre. The split is a marvelous mix of post hardcore kindled with furious passion and ominous expressions that gratify all aspects of both bands. While Touche Amore loves dabbling with the more straight up style of hardcore the accompanying aesthetics of La Dispute are able to diversify their sound to a profound elegance often missing from …To the Beat of A Dead Horse. Likewise Touche Amore provide a rugged twist to the dismal bounce La Dispute find themselves carving their niche in from time to time. As soon as the compilation kicks off with “I’ll Get My Just Deserve” the justified balance between the two bands is met with melodic riffs soaring over the two leading vocalists trading off. This is a relative aspect to the split being its strongest trait - that is the dy-na-MIGHT interplay between Jeremy and Jordan.

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