Band – Scream! Shout! Say Nothing
EP – Well I Never, You Always
Release date – 17th August (digital download)
Label – Scylla Records

It’s a bold step forward for Scream! Shout! Say Nothing. From the success of September’s superb ‘The Animals Still Run This City’ debut, which focussed more on a jarring, metal-tinged heavy rock sphere, this 2 tracker dips its progressive toe into the waves of structured, post-hardcore rhythms with a greater emphasis on the vocals and dare I say harmonies! Note; this doesn’t mean the Hertfordshire 5 piece have mellowed – there’s still that same rage, that same passion, but their sound is tighter – focussed and slams home with the force of a Statham roundhouse kick to the ribcage.

There’s a bit in ‘Well I Never, You Always’ at the 1.15 mark, where the vocals slide behind the steady drum rolls as if they were recorded with singer Ben Davies shouting into a storm. As the crescendo of beats slowly builds and builds and the muted guitars gently swarm forward, Davies’s harsh bark breaks through under the volley of crushing riffs and sporadic drum hits. This furious beatdown continues, with the precision and accuracy that was last heard on a Yourcodenameis:milo record; but y’know, heavier, with that dangerously infectious melodic edge that glistens with razor sharp charm. The gang vocals at the end, along with the chant at the 2.40 mark (“and it feels like we’re riding, riding the waves of infinity”) come in at just the right time and burst forth with Dananananaykroyd-style euphoria and air-punch fury. A scary, but fascinating amount of determination that bleeds through on every shout and every scream.

The second track, entitled ‘But Sir I’m The King’ favours a calmer start, with the same looped guitar part and overlapping vocals, which feature some amusing word play (the first stanza being “Do I think you’d agree at the barrel of a gun? If I did, I’d be armed to the teeth”). It sees a departure from the more Refused-hardcore elements that were present on their debut and instead focuses more cleaner vocal lines, ambient passages and even post-rock tendencies. However, there is a nod towards Alexisonfire’s Pulmonary Archery, which keen-eared listeners will pick out with ease. As the track builds to a thunderous conclusion; the almost wall of sound that beats like a fucked clock suddenly cuts to a dramatic yet soothing coda of dark, mood-filled strumming. Here it is easy to see the Explosions In The Sky influence in its full glory and some elements of Irish ‘we’re not instrumental, we just don’t have a vocalist’ war-bringers, And So I Watch You From Afar.

I wouldn’t have thought it possible for Scream! Shout! Say Nothing to get any more zealous. I was wrong – these two tracks latch on to you like a set of claws; fervently gripping you in their layers of sprawling sound and spaced-out grandeur.

‘Well I Never, You Always’ can be pre-ordered here for just 99p!

Links

Scream! Shout! Say Nothing
Scream! Shout! Myspace
Scylla Records

Lizard Hips

Junior Vice President of Keep It Fast. In other news: I work in social media, talk about dinosaurs, run a book club and have amazing facial hair. I am also a male man who is still not dead.

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