BORDERS

Purify

LONG BRANCH

Lincoln metalcore hopefuls fail to find their own spot on the map

Metalcore had a bit of a creative renaissance at the start of the decade. It feels like it needs one again. Borders’ debut album is so lacking in ideas, so entrenched in established formulas and produced in such a cut-and-paste way, that it’s hard to know what to say about them as a band. Most of the record is so unremarkable that it passes without incident, and when the UK four-piece do try to add something a little different to their palette, the rapped sections of War being the prime culprit, it’s a sound that feels like something TRC would have left on the cutting room floor five years ago. Ultimately, Purify is an album that tells us nothing about the members of Borders other than what type of bands they’ve spent the last few years listening to. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Hacktivist, August Burns Red, Ice

Nine Kills band of nutters, and Passionate And Tragic is the second time the punk rock-plus legend has twiddled knobs to harness the Belgian’s chaotic and quizzical sound. Vocalist Aurélie delivers cartoonlike, helium-embellished, staccato shrieks on subjects ranging from gender politics (My Cake) to sugary desserts (My Cake as well, strangely) while the bass pumps, drums pound out fractured Morse Code patterns and guitars imitate the sound of aluminium being set on fire. At times, their redlining din forces riffs and melody to disappear behind a hail of noise, but the energy is infectious and designed for sweaty live caves. Perfect for a band who have played more than 400 gigs in three years. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: The Locust, Arab On Radar, Melt-Banana with pace do not always pay off and the interminably slow Hourglass sees them getting a touch too clever, but, on the whole, Defeater delves deeper into the band’s psyche than ever and the result is arresting and cathartic.

FOR FANS OF: Touché Amoré, La Dispute, Being As An Ocean

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