Band: Entropy
Album: Liminal
Label: CrazySane Records
Release date: August 21, 2020
Sounds like: Bob Mould fronting a melodic Sofy Major whilst Helmet offer riff advice
Hamburg’s Entropy could be seen as a jigsaw, pieced together from parts of various other bands from the emo-hardcore scene in Germany, uniting together to create something that harvests various elements of shared backgrounds past, new ideas, and rescued riffs to form a musical entity that has one clear goal – passion, in bucketloads.
Opening track Terminal, has this dangerous lurching riffage below the melodic surface, giving the impression it could all spiral out of control, but Entropy holds it together to deliver a punchy and raucous introduction. Who remembers Renee Heartfelt? Almost fucking no-one. One of the first searches on google for them is a link to this website, which shows how under-appreciated they were. I bet Entropy do – there’s this rich, slow-burn sound similar to RH, that ever-earnest, deeply-poignant emotive-hardcore, that’s fused together with this booming heaviness, especially on the weighty throwdown of The Enemy Doesn’t Sleep and on the gritty, twisting punk of Stuttering Days. The sledgehammer bass tone on the curb-stomping Northern Line brings to mind the noisy arrogance of France’s Sofy Major, offset by the soaring clean punk rock vocals and this steady, triumphant build of joyous, overlapping shoegaze riffs alongside what can only be described as this jubilant, crushing noise of ecstasy.
The subtle use of keys on the gorgeous summer anthem that is Age of Anxiety cement this as one of the best heavy-pop songs you’ll hear this year, combining the booming melody Torche had on Harmonicraft back in 21012 and moments that bring to mind R.E.M’s Orange Crush, as a complete curveball. This unlikely combination helps to expand the dynamics that Entropy use in their sound, to craft these bruising, yet melancholy songs, allowing them to float between genres at their leisure.
General System Theory is the kind of breathless, erratic track that feels like it’s going to splinter apart any minute. There’s some interesting electronic noodling around the 30-second mark, that sadly, doesn’t appear again, however, the rush this has to reach the end (this is the only track under 3 minutes on Liminal) drives it forward with such pace and crunching, raw determination, it clearly stands out as one of the highlights on an album jam-packed with anthems.
Balancing The Edges is the kind of emo-pop rock banger you need to revive yourself during a low festival moment; you know the one, you’re absolutely flagging midway through the second day, hangover at critical mass, you go to see a band your mate has banged on about for the last hour and this fucking comes on. It’s a kickstart, a shock of adrenalin through fizzing guitar chords, and this gorgeous driving melody that hooks you in. Soon, that energy you thought had exited your body propels you through anything else the day can throw at you. That’s really the theme of Liminal though, it’s all about locating that hidden energy, it’s about reigniting that spark to keep things ticking over, whether it’s physical, mental or psychological – the importance of that boost, that healing power is apparent and it flows through Liminal like lifeblood.
This could well be the sleeper hit of the year, or a lost, forgotten gem – either way, if you stumble across this absolute gold mine of huge, expansive, emotive post-hardcore with killer metallic riffs and soaring vocals, you’re in safe hands.
Stream/buy Liminal by Entropy below through the always excellent, CrazySane Records.
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