Comprising of vocalist Andy Wardle, guitarists Tom Wilkinson and Daniel Carter, bassist Terry Wright and Luke Cooper on drums; new Barnsley Post-Hardcore five-piece Words Become Waves have landed on the scene this week with an almighty bang. With a debut single, recorded at DC Studios and an accompanying video filmed by the brilliant Liam Gilroy of Arcadia Film, this band already appear to offer something new for the scene.
Tom Wilkinson explains, ‘We formed in late 2014, as former members of Black Echo and Fear of Sharks, looking for a unique sound having progressive rock and weird time signatures while keeping the overall tone very listenable and not out of the realm of normality. We wanted to focus on dealing with more mature themes in our music. We didn’t set out with a set genre in mind and we are influenced by many types of music.’
So what about the song? The Decider has a real sharpe groove to it. Angular, yet warm. The verses offer clean guitar parts that sound so smooth and a versatile vocal with a nice low-end and an ability to fit a lot (of lyrics) into little short spaces.
As the chorus swings in, the guitars get heavier and more complicated – this would be a sweet listening experience for fellow musicians. Then the vocals… unlike the verse which I really liked, the chorus didnt agree with me at first. The style of singing – some might describe it as soaring – straddled Emo just that bit too close for this to be something I’d listen to a lot in my own time. HOWEVER… about eight listens later and this has grown on me. A lot.
I look forward to seeing where the band go next. I’d love to hear them push both ends, more extreme and heavier, then also mellower, maybe a ballad.
These days I’m not au fait the Post-Hardcore scene, but Decider did remind me of Norma Jean, Glassjaw and From Autumn To Ashes. But it’s the band’s progressive leanings that allow Words Become Waves to stand out from the poppier end of the Hardcore scene and probably offer some kind of longevity. The song structures walk a path not yet trod in on the Barnsley scene. This band is a lot more mature in their writing and more techinally advanced that their previous outfits.
To keep up to date with all things Words Become Waves, follow the official facebook page.
www.facebook.com/wordsbecomewaves
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