REVIEW: The Early November – “In Currents”


[July 10th 2012 – Rise Records // Find it at: iTunes | Amazon MP3]

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Six years removed from a definitive triple album, the New Jersey rockers are still using personal moments to carve their songwriting. In the case of The Early November, their shade of pop punk is more gripping than it’s ever been and where hooks are expected to shimmer and shine, the core to In Currents slams itself against the wall, with gritty bruisers (“Frayed In Doubt”, “Close To You”) jumping around like the anxiety of a teenage boy trying to fight off torment and warm his heart. It’s just nearly ten years ago, vocalist/guitarist Ace Enders was discovering what it’s like to be genuine (“Every petal’s come off again and fell to the floor”) and now he’s sketching authenticity (“It was a long night drinking whiskey, and I don’t drink so my head’s turned around”). That fragment of being human forces In Currents to be more than a comeback album and to test The Early November as artists, instrumentalists and writers. In the record’s heavier moments, they amplify their rock tendencies (“Guilt & Swell”) and the experimental taste they smeared on The Mechanic (“Wearing A Tie”) and it pushes every guitar and rhythm to be bold, but stripped, Enders traps natural vocal melodies that push recordings to be incredibly addictive, like the  outbursts “Digital Age” and “That’s Not Your Name”. The songs still embody that youthful plain tee/ripped jeans-feeling and the way it swells and clicks is hauntingly gorgeous, especially when lines start to trace not only memories, but history.

Download: “Call Off The Bells”, “Digital Age”, “Frayed In Doubt”

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